Orange Men’s Basketball

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Orange junior point guard Kai Wade scored 31 points as the Panthers fought back from an 8-point halftime deficit to defeat Voyager Academy 75-64 in the season-opener at Orange High on Friday night. It was the opening game of the Voyager Academy Tip-Off Classic, which will continue tonight with a trip to Voyager to face Riverside. Senior Michael Clark had a career-high 23 points as the Panthers won its lid lifter for the fifth time in seven years. Wade has been a starter on the varsity for the past three years. He will likely have to take an increased role on offense this year after the transfer of Coleman Cloer, who transferred to Caldwell Academy after scoring over 1,000 points in just two seasons in Hillsborough. Clark has been a member of the varsity since 2021. With senior Xandrell Pennix working his way back from an ankle injury, Clark stepped up with some big baskets early in the third quarter. Clark scored on a three-point play to take the lead for good late in the third quarter. Senior Freddy Sneed, who also played regularly as a freshman, injured his foot in the third quarter, but returned to make some crucial defensive plays. Orange is looking to repeat as Central Conference champions.

Orange basketball’s Kai Wade, Michael Clark & Freddy Sneed discuss season-opening win vs. Voyager

Orange junior point guard Kai Wade scored 31 points as the Panthers fought back from an 8-point halftime deficit to defeat Voyager Academy 75-64 in the season-opener at Orange High on Friday night. It was the opening game of the Voyager Academy Tip-Off Classic, which will continue tonight with a trip to Voyager to face Riverside.

In another time, the Orange men’s basketball team would have its greatest player in school history and its best rim protector in generations back for their junior seasons.

But that’s not the time we’re in.

Coleman Cloer, who scored 1,035 points over 46 career Orange games, transferred to Caldwell Academy over the summer to play his junior season after he collected offers from North Carolina, Illinois and Georgetown. Another rising junior, Mason Robinson, left for Greensboro Country Day, though he was still a regular at Orange volleyball games through the late summer until it was time to start basketball practice.

Orange’s explosiveness has been naturally diminished, but their expectations aren’t.

“I haven’t seen enough of the conference to judge where I think where I think we should be,” Britt said. “But in our minds, the conference still runs through Orange High School.”

Junior Kai Wade scored 31 points as Orange quickly erased a halftime deficit to defeat Voyager Academy 75-64 in the Voyager Academy Tip-Off Classic at Panther Gymnasium in Hillsborough on Friday night to open the season. Senior Michael Clark, who has played on varsity on and off since his freshman year, added a career-high 23 points as Orange won its season-opener for the fifth time in seven years.

Alex Wilder led the Vikings with 15 points. Center McKinley Hemsley added 14, but was limited to one field goal in the second half. Voyager took a 41-33 lead into the locker room on the strength of eighth 3-pointers in the first half. After intermission, the Vikings were limited to three field goals from downtown.

“Kai and Mike did exactly what I expect out of them,” Britt said. “In the first half, our defense wasn’t what it was during the preseason. But we’re going to play quality defense. We should have a three-headed monster on offense.”

Voyager, coming off a loss to Durham Academy, had played four games dating back to November 6. They were more cohesive than the Panthers early, rushing out to a 17-7 lead behind two 3-pointers from Wilder. Orange finished the first quarter with a 13-3 run that was triggered by Wade, who drilled a 3-pointer to pull the Panthers into the first tie of the game. Wade delivered one of his patented strip-and-steals late in the frame for a lay-in to pull Orange ahead 20-18.

The Vikings immediately erased their deficit with five 3-pointers in the second quarter. Darin Jones opened with a trey. Hemsley scored seven of his 12 points in the second quarter while Orange was limited to only one field goal over a span of five minutes. Voyager built an 11-point lead before Clark scored two late field goals to trip the Viking advantage to 41-33 at halftime.

Wade and Sneed alternated between defending Voyager’s top scorer Manny Pullium, who averaged 16.8 points per game. On Friday, he was held to nine, his lowest output of the season.

From the time Xandrell Pennix stole the ball away from Pullium to open the second half leading to a pull-up jumper from Wade, the Panthers dominated the second half. Orange limited the Vikings to seven points in the third quarter. After a miss by Hemsley, Wade fed Clark for a lay-in while drawing a foul on Pullium. Clark stole the ball on the subsequent possession and Freddy Sneed scored off a lay-in following an offensive rebound from Jalen Crayton.

After Wilder scored on a sharp arching shot that banked high off the glass to boost the Voyager lead to 43-40, Wade sank two free throws. Following a foul on Hemsley on a rebound, Clark scored off a stick back to give the Panthers a 44-43, advantage, its first lead since it was 20-18.

Pullium scored off a lay-in to put the Vikings ahead, but Wade got the bounce on a jumper with 3:10 left in the third quarter that vaulted the Panthers ahead for the rest of the way.

Orange will continue play in the Voyager Academy Tip-Off Classic when they face Riverside at Voyager Academy tonight. Action starts at 6:30.

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This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior basketball forward Freddy Sneed. With no limits to his versatility, Sneed could help the Orange men’s basketball team in any number of ways. As Coleman Cloer and Kai Wade handled most of the scoring load for the bulk of a championship season, Sneed became a valuable presence defensively. Early in the year, Cloer was sidelined with an ankle injury. Sneed stepped up on offense. He scored 16 points in Orange’s season-opening win over Hillside. Sneed also stole an inbounds pass that led to the game-winning 3-pointer from Malakai Poole. Sneed finished the game with 16 points, five steals and four rebounds. Sneed proved to be a valuable presence throughout the season as Orange won its first regular season championship since 2017 and its first postseason conference tournament title since 2016. Against Eastern Alamance on February 16, Sneed totaled ten points, seven rebounds and six steals. In the Central Conference Tournament championship game, Sneed finished with eight points and six rebounds. Sneed has been a member of the varsity since his freshman year under the direction of head coach Derryl Britt and will continue to be a vital part of Orange basketball into his senior year in 2024-2025 as the Panthers look to repeat as conference champions.

Orange Panther of the Week: Freddie Sneed

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Photo by Jacques Morin 

Even missing the first nine games of the year wasn’t enough to keep Coleman Cloer from earning the first individual accolade of his Orange career.

On Monday morning, Cloer was named the Central Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year following a poll of the league’s coaches. Cloer, a sophomore, helped Orange win its first regular season conference championship since 2017 this winter. Last month, Orange won the Central Conference Tournament at Person High School in Roxboro, its first conference tournament title since 2016. Cloer was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament after he scored 36 points in the championship game against Eastern Alamance.

Cloer finished the season with 463 total points, an average of 25.7 per game. The biggest question is what would he have averaged if he had played in the opening nine games of the season, which were designed for him to play in showcase games against the likes of Highland (out of Warranton, VA), Forsyth Country Day and Caldwell Academy. But five days before the season-opener against Hillside, Cloer suffered a fluky ankle injury in practice. Instead of opening the year on November 17 against the Hornets, Cloer didn’t start until December 14 against Southern Alamance.

His presence was immediately felt. Though he needed time to get his basketball legs, Cloer led a minor miracle comeback against the Patriots in the Central Conference opener. Trailing 60-55 with 28 seconds remaining in regulation, Cloer and classmate Kai Wade triggered a comeback in the waning moments. After Wade stripped and stole an inbounds pass for a lay-in, Cloer tied the game with two free throws with :5.8 seconds remaining. Orange went on to win in overtime 72-68. Cloer scored 29 in his first game.

Cloer’s presence was enough for Orange to be invited into the John Wall Invitational at Raleigh Brough High School for the first time in school history after Christmas. Though the Panthers lost to Northwood, Jordan and Millbrook, they emerged from Raleigh tighter, more seasoned and better adjusted to their individual roles.

2024 started with dominant wins over Western Alamance, Walter Willams and Cedar Ridge. In 13 wins against Central Conference opponents, Orange didn’t trail in nine of those games.

Cloer had his career high of 39 points against Southern Alamance on February 9, the night that Orange captured the Central Conference regular season title. A week later against Eastern Alamance, Cloer finished with 31 points in Mebane as the Panthers closed out the regular season with a win over the Eagles.

Cloer became the first sophomore to surpass 1,000 career points when he put up 38 points against Curritcuk County in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs, a 86-69 Panther win. Cloer earned his 1,000th point by sinking a 25-footer, generating a huge roar from the Orange student section. It was the first state playoff win for Orange since 2017, when they defeated Triton in the 3rd round.

Cloer is on pace to become the first 2,000 point scorer in school history. The all-time school scoring record is believed to be held by Eric English, who went on to play at the University of Richmond under head coach Dick Tarrant.

Last summer, Cloer received scholarship offers from N.C. State, Wake Forest, Tennessee, Iowa, Appalachian State, and Mississippi State. This year, Cloer has attracted offers from Georgetown and Illinois. He is considered the #1 prospect in North Carolina for the Class of 2026.

Cloer’s older brother, Garrett, was the quarterback of some of the most successful Orange football teams in school history. Cloer played alongside running backs Tay Jones, Patrick Pettiford and linebacker/wide receiver Bryce Wilson. During Cloer’s years as staters, Orange won 10-games in three consecutive seasons under head coach Pat Moser. Garrett Cloer went on to play football at Cornell.

ROCKY MOUNT–Past success for Orange men’s basketball has come incrementally.

In 2015, when Connor Crabtree and Logan Vosburg were sophomores, the Panthers reached the 2nd round of the state playoffs, where they lost to Havelock. A year later, they won the Big 8 Conference Tournament championship, again losing to Havelock in the 2nd round. By the time they were seniors, Crabtree and Vosburg led Orange to the conference regular season crown and reached the state quarterfinals. The only reason they didn’t advance further was a fluke injury to Crabtree against Triton in the 3rd round.

This year’s Orange team wanted to make a quantum leap. When Coleman Cloer, Kai Wade and Mason Robinson were freshmen last year, they simply wanted to reach the state playoffs, which they accomplished. After winning the Central Conference regular season and tournament championships last month, the first such titles since the days of Crabtree and Vosburg, some Panthers talked of winning the state championship.

On Friday night, they learned how difficult it is to immediately ascend to the top.

In front of a crowded Knights Gymnasium, senior guard Randall King scored 28 points and grabbed ten rebounds as Northern Nash defeated Orange 68-60 in the second round of the 3A State Playoffs on Friday night. The Knights (21-7) claimed its 15th consecutive win and will face 2nd-seeded Westover in Fayetteville on Tuesday night.

Cloer led Orange with 30 points, his sixth 30-point game of the season. The Panthers end the season 16-12.

Orange held the Knights scoreless in the final 2:43 of the first half and tied the game 24-24 going into halftime after a dunk by Cloer off a pass from Freddy Sneed. It concluded a second quarter where both team’s offenses seemed to be mired in quicksand. The Panthers went 8:04 without a field goal, yet the Knights were only able to extend its lead to 24-18.

Northern Nash roared out of the locker room with nine points in the opening 1:25 of the second half, keyed by explosive 6-foot-8 freshman forward C.J. Rosser. Hampered by foul trouble in the first quarter, Rosser opened the third quarter by firing in a 3-pointer from the corner. On the Knights next possession, Rosser grabbed a miss by King and laid it in. Orange committed consecutive turnovers that led to field goals by King and Trey Battle, extending the Knights lead to 33-24, a deficit that Orange would spend the rest of the night trying to erase.

King, who will play wide receiver at Campbell University, extended Northern Nash’s lead to 54-40 after a block by Chris Silver, a 6-foot-10 sophomore center, led to a lay-in by King with 5:45 remaining in regulation. Pennix triggered an Orange run with a 3-pointer off an assist from Kai Wade. Cloer would score off an offensive rebound and was fouled by Silver, who fouled out. Cloer then delivered his highlight play of the night with a dribbling exhibition against Battle, then sinking an 19-footer.

Pennix stole the ball from Rosser, leading to another lay-in from Cloer to cut the 54-50. After Mallory scored off a pass from Rosser, Cloer scored off an offensive rebound. Then Mason Robinson, who registered nine points, seven rebounds and seven blocks, grabbed a miss by Rosser, feed Sneed who delivered a pass for Cloer for a dunk to cut the Knights lead to 58-56 with 2:02 remaining.

King was fouled by Sneed and sank two free throws. Cloer missed a three-pointer, which led to King scoring off a steal and the Panthers didn’t score again until a late field goal from Cloer.

Orange jumped out to a 8-1 lead behind two three-pointers from Pennix. Sneed added two free throws to increase the Panther lead to 8-1. Orange shot 5-of-12 in the first half.

As was the case with Curritcuck County, Northern Nash thrived on the offensive boards. The Knights grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and outrebounded Orange overall 45-35. Trey Battle added eleven points and five rebounds.

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This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore men’s basketball point guard Kai Wade. This season, the Orange men’s basketball team won the Central Conference championship, its first conference title since 2017. Wade’s explosive first step off the ball has become his trademark since he started as a freshman last season. His synchronicity with teammates Coleman Cloer, Xandrell Pennix and Freddie Sneed is evident with the way Wade runs the Orange offense. Another Wade wrinkle is his pull-up jumper, which he used to tie up the season-opener against Hillside in November, leading to an Orange win. On January 23, Wade had a season-high 20 points in the Panthers 75-67 win over Eastern Alamance, which put the Panthers in first place in the Central Conference for good. In Orange’s conference opener against Southern Alamance on December 14, Wade scored 15 points, but the Panthers wouldn’t have won without him. He stole the ball for a lay-in late in regulation as Orange erased a 5-point deficit in the final 28 seconds of regulation. Wade opened overtime with a 25-foot 3-pointer to put the Panthers ahead for good. Wade had seven assists in the rematch against Southern Alamance on February 9. Through 48 career games, Wade is at 572 points. He also won an OPAC Middle School championship at Gravelly Hill Middle School in Efland. He scored 20 points in 2020 as the Grizzlies defeated Phillips 45-37 in 2020.

Orange Panther of the Week: Kai Wade

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Orange sophomore men’s basketball forward Coleman Cloer added to his legacy in several ways on Tuesday night. He scored 38 points as the Panthers defeated Currituck County 85-62 to win in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. Cloer also surpassed 1,000 career points. He become the first Orange player to reach 1,000 points as a sophomore. Cloer drained a 25-footer for career point 1,002. He surpassed the milestone in his 45th career game. This season, Cloer set a new career-high of 41 points against Southern Alamance on February 10, the night where Orange claimed the Central Conference regular season championship. Last week, he scored 36 points against Eastern Alamance as the Panthers won the Central Conference Tournament, the Panthers first conference tournament title since 2016. Cloer also had 31 in the regular season finale against Eastern Alamance in Mebane in the regular season finale. Orange shot 55% from the field against Currituck. He also grabbed eleven rebounds. Junior Xandrell Pennix added 21 points and four steals as the Panthers improved to 16-11. Kai Wade had eleven points. Orange advances to the second round of the 3A State Playoffs for the first time since 2017. They will face Northern Nash in Rocky Mount on Friday night. Northern Nash defeated West Brunswick in the opening round. 

Orange sophomore Coleman Cloer discusses surpassing 1,000 career points

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