Orange Men’s Basketball

Photo by Erik Perel 

In a season where youth usurped experience for playing time on the Orange men’s basketball team, the Panthers game against Cedar Ridge served as a thank you to the veterans from head coach Derryl Britt.

Transitions don’t always go smoothly when three freshmen replace three seniors in the starting lineup. Yet it’s led to the Panthers’ most successful season in six years and a large part of that comes from the unselfishness of seniors Darius Corbett, Kaleb Barnhardt, Isaiah Seymour, Thomas Loch, and Caleb Barreto.

On Friday night, all of those seniors started as Orange defeated Cedar Ridge 72-44. It was a taste of revenge for Corbett and Loch. In 2021, during the pandemic year when virtually no fans were allowed to games, the Red Wolves swept the Panthers, both times coming back from double-digit deficits to win.

Orange freshman Coleman Coler led Orange (15-6, 7-2 in the Central Carolina Conference) with 16 points. Barreto, who transferred from Wake Forest last summer, had a season-high 12 points.

Cedar Ridge senior Colton Taylor led all scorers with 22 points, but he was the only Red Wolf in double-figures.

“I was happy for my seniors tonight,” Britt said. “I love playing them together as a unit. It brings some intensity and they deserve it. Unfortunately for those guys, we had an infusion of talent and size. The way the seniors have handled this situation has been classy. I just wanted to bless the seniors tonight and have them start since it was the last time they would play Cedar Ridge.”

Orange is in sole possession of second place in the Central Carolina Conference after Person’s loss to Walter Williams on Friday night. The Rockets and the Panthers will meet on Tuesday night in Hillsborough.

Jonovan Wingate started the game hot for Cedar Ridge. He drained his first two 3-pointers to jolt the Red Wolves ahed 6-2 in the opening minutes. The hot shooting didn’t last for Cedar Ridge, who finished at 25% from the field.

Barreto’s 3-pointer off a feed from Barnhardt gave Orange a 8-6 lead, but Taylor’s foot never left the gas pedal . He drained two free throws to tie the game. Corbett drained back-to-back field goals to close the first quarter, assisted by Barnhardt and Barreto, respectively, to give Orange a 13-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

When the second quarter started, Orange put in Cloer, freshman Kai Wade, junior Ryan Honeycutt, freshman Mason Robinson and sophomore Xandrell Pennix. Yet the Red Wolves opened the frame with six straight points, including Wingate’s third 3-pointer to cap a four-point possession that started with a free throw from sophomore Landon Dalehite. Taylor’s lay-in off a pass from Hayden Kirk gave the Red Wolves a 16-13 lead.

Orange went on a 12-0 run to take control midway through the second quarter.  It started when Wade scored four straight points, including sinking a pull-up 15-footer. Robinson slammed home a dunk off a pass from Honeycutt. To complete the run, Honeycutt scored on a two-hand dunk off a pass from Cloer.

Orange’s frontline, which includes the 6’6″ Honeycutt, 6’7 Robinson and 6’6″ Cloer, made it impossible for the Red Wolves to get anything established inside. Orange outrebounded Cedar Ridge 50-42, including 19-to-11 on the offensive glass.

“It’s coming along,” said Orange coach Derryl Britt of his team’s inside game. “It’s something we’ve been harping on all year. The last few games we’ve really made a conscious effort. The guys have brought in to what we’re trying to do and they believe in what we’re trying to do.”

Orange piled up the offensive rebounds in the third quarter. The Red Wolves were held to six shots from the field while the Panthers had six offensive rebounds. On defense, Orange forced six Cedar Ridge turnovers. The Red Wolves didn’t score a field goal in the opening 5:09 of the second half.

All of this took place in front of the largest crowd of the season for Orange, where the student section was packed. That presence would be greatly welcomed by Orange’s coaches for its home game on Tuesday night against Person, which could decide 2nd place in the Central Carolina Conference, as well as a potential home game in the 3A State Playoffs and a potential semifinal game in the upcoming Central Carolina Conference tournament.

“To be honest, I don’t know how big the crowd is,” Britt said. “I love the energy of a big crowd, but once the game starts, I’m oblivious to the crowd. I kind of block that stuff out.”

ORANGE 72, CEDAR RIDGE 44

CR–10  16  6   12-44

OR–13  25   11  23-72

CEDAR RIDGE–Jonovan Wingate 9, Colton Taylor 22, Harrison Perel 1, Landon Dalehite 5, Colton Wingate 3, Hayden Kirk 4.

ORANGE–Kaleb Barnhardt 1, Isaiah Seymour 2, Thomas Loch 2, Darius Corbett 7, Caleb Barreto 12, Mason Robinson 5, Malachi Poole 3, Kai Wade 11, Coleman Cloer 16, Ryan Moss 5, Ryan Honeycutt 8.

3-pointers–CEDAR RIDGE 5 (C. Wingate, J. Wingate 3, Taylor) ORANGE 5 (Wade, Barreto 2, Cloer 2)

FOULED OUT-Kirk

It was a nice win for the Orange men’s basketball seniors in the Panthers’ 72-44 win over Cedar Ridge on Friday night in Hillsborough. All five of the Panthers’ senior started for head coach Derryl Britt. Darius Corbett scored eight points as the Panthers guaranteed themselves its first winning season in six years. Meanwhile, Caleb Barretto scored ten points, a season-best. Orange is now 14-6, it’s best mark since the 2016-17 season. It was a gratifying win for Corbett, who has been a member of the varsity basketball team since his freshman year. He lost his first four games to Cedar Ridge. Now, he has beaten the Red Wolves four straight times. Barretto is a transfer from Wake Forest who actually played against Orange last January. Corbett had seven points, five rebounds and q block. He is also an All-Central Carolina Conference selection in soccer. Orange is 6-2 in the Central Carolina Conference. Next up, Orange will have a critical matchup against Person on Tuesday night in Hillsborough to conclude a four-game homestead. The Panthers and the Rockets are tied for second place in the CCC. The winner will have an inside track on hosting a game in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs.

Orange’s Darius Corbett and Caleb Barreto discuss basketball win over Cedar Ridge

No Description

The Orange men’s basketball team brought the block party to Panther Gymnasium on Tuesday night. Facing Walter Williams, the Panthers had 13 blocks and 21 offensive rebounds against the Bulldogs. Orange came away with a 66-59 victory which guaranteed the Panthers’ first winning season since 2016-2017. Junior center Ryan Honeycutt had eight points, ten rebounds and three blocks against the Bulldogs. The Panthers never trailed in the game. Junior guard Malachi Poole came in and scored four points as the Panthers kept its lead above eight points for almost the entirety of the second half. Orange has now guaranteed itself a home game in the opening round of the Central Carolina Conference tournament next month, the first time that’s happened since 2017. Orange also took another step towards the 3A State Playoffs. The Panthers will host crosstown rival Cedar Ridge on Friday night at Panther Gymnasium. Tipoff will be at 7 o’clock. In the first game between the two teams on January 3, Orange trailed by five points early in the fourth quarter before they stormed back to win 57-47 at Red Wolves Arena.

Orange’s Ryan Honeycutt & Malachi Poole discuss men’s basketball win over Williams

The Orange men’s basketball team brought the block party to Panther Gymnasium on Tuesday night. Facing Walter Williams, the Panthers had 13 blocks and 21 offensive rebounds against the Bulldogs. Orange came away with a 66-59 victory which guaranteed the Panthers’ first winning season since 2016-2017.

Another new aspect for Orange basketball in 2023 is they can beat a team with defense.

They have almost of rim protectors in freshmen Mason Robinson and Coleman Cloer, along with junior Ryan Honeycutt and sophomore guard Freddy Sneed. Against Williams on Tuesday night, the Panthers swat team went to work and all but ensured the team’s first winning season since 2015-16.

Cloer scored 18 points while guard Kai Wade added 14 as the Panthers defeated Walter Williams 66-59 at Panthers Gymnasium. As fate would have it, 66-59 was the exact same score from the first meeting between the two teams on December 16 in Burlington, also won by Orange.

The Panthers are now 13-6 overall, 6-2 in the Central Carolina Conference, tied with Person for second place. More importantly, Orange now leads Williams by two games in the conference standings, plus they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker after sweeping the season series from the Bulldogs. It all but ensures that the Panthers will host a game in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament next month.

Robinson scored the first field goal off a pass from Honeycutt. Williams’ Milton Turner, who finished with 16 points, responded with a hook shot off the glass, which was the game’s only tie at 2-2.

The Panthers scored eight in a row, punctuated by a 4-point play from Orange’s Xandrell Pennix, who drained a 3-pointer while being fouled by Greyson McCadden to extend the Panthers lead to 10-2. The Bulldogs had chanced to draw closer early, but missed its first six free throws.

Late in the first quarter, Orange’s Caleb Barretto hit two 3-pointers to increase the Panthers’ lead to 18-9. Turner scored on a drive to the basket and was fouled by Darius Corbett to trim Orange’s lead to 18-12 at the end of the first quarter.

Williams got seven points from Turner in the first quarter to reduce Orange’s lead to Cloer took an airball and went coast-to-coast for a right-handed lay-in with 5:32 remaining in the first half. On the next possession, freshman Mason Robinson blocked a shot by Cam’ron Jones, which led to Cloer scoring from 22-feet to put the Panthers ahead 26-15, which forced Williams coach Tommy Cole to call a timeout.

Robinson blocked two more shots on Williams’ next possession, which led to Williams’ Larry Blount being called for traveling when he went up-and-down after Cloer got in his face on a shot attempt. Malachi Poole’s 10-footer off an offensive rebound by Wade, plus two free throws by Honeycutt stretched the Panther advantage to 32-17.

The Panthers will host crosstown rival Cedar Ridge on Friday night at Panthers Gymnasium.

Women’s Basketball: Walter Williams 50, Orange 34

Walter Williams’ Kamryn Russell had the big shots from downtown as the Bulldogs pulled away from Orange in the third matchup of the season between the two teams.

Russell and Briahna Scott each scored 15 points to lead all scorers as Williams gained revenge on the Panthers. Last month, Orange defeated Williams in the semifinals of the Eastern Guilford Holiday Invitational, a tournament the Panthers would eventually win.

On Tuesday night, the Bulldogs dictated the pace of play and held Orange center Erin Jordan-Cornell to six points, tying her season-low. Senior Katelyn Van Mater led the Lady Panthers with eight points.

Jordan-Cornell picked up two fouls in the opening four minutes, which sent the Panthers streaming upstream for most of the night. With Orange trailing 18-14 in the final seconds of the first half, Russell drained a 3-pointer to send the Bulldogs to the locker room with a 21-14 lead.

The Bulldogs hit seven 3-pointers, with Russell scoring two in the fourth quarter that put the game away. Williams (15-4, 6-2 in the Central Carolina Conference) remains in second place in the CCC.

Orange (10-10, 3-5) travels to Cedar Ridge on Friday night.

Men’s Basketball: ORANGE 66, WALTER WILLIAMS 59

WALTER WILLIAMS–Jaelean Brown 6, Ty Lagana 5, Milton Turner 16, Cam’ron Jones 18, Greysen Mccadden 12, Jordan Harless 2.

ORANGE–Xandrell Pennix 9, Kai Wade 16, Coleman Cloer 19, Mason Robinson 2, Ryan Honeycutt 8, Isaiah Seymour 4, Caleb Barretto 6, Malachi Poole 4.

3-pointers: Williams 3 (Brown, Lagana, McCadden); Orange 6 (Pennix 2, Wade, Cloer, Barretto 2).

Fouled out-none

Women’s Basketball: WALTER WILLIAMS 50, ORANGE 34 

WALTER WILLIAMS–Kamryn Russell 15, Jainasia Bailey 9, Briahna Scott 15, Jordyn Taylor 8, Reagan Averett 3.

ORANGE–Jada Reed 6, Addie Atkins 3, Evelyn George 4, Nikayla Whitted 7, Erin Jordan-Cornell 6, Katelyn Van Mater 8.

3-Pointers: WALTER WILLIAMS 6 (Russell 3, Bailey, Scott, Averett) ORANGE 3 (Reed, Atkins, Whitted)

Fouled out-none.

If Friday night had a 90s retro theme inside Orange High Gymnasium, an apt musical selection would have been songs from Boys II Men.

On December 20, the Orange men’s basketball team pulled away from Southern Alamance and won 80-63. By the time the Panthers returned home on Friday night, a month had passed.

Through heartbreak and narrow victories, the Panthers have grown up a lot. And the proof was in living color on Friday night.

The Panthers tore through Western Alamance 84-36 to start the second half of the Central Carolina Conference slate. Orange stomped out to an 8-0 lead in the opening 1:34 and led by double-figures nearly for the balance of the game.

In Elon, the Panthers gradually pulled away from the Warriors to win 57-45, but it was still a contest the entire 32 minutes. On Friday in Hillsborough, it was a first-round knockout as opposed to an unanimous decision with the 1-2 punch of freshman Coleman Cloer and sophomore Xandrell Pennix landing the haymakers.

Cloer drained a three-pointer on Orange’s opening possession, followed by a jumper from Kai Wade. Pennix sank a three-pointer from 21-feet after an illegal screen call against the Warriors and the rout was on.

Cloer, a freshman who has scored in double-figures in 18 of Orange’s 19 games, led all scorers with 19 points. Pennix finished with 15.

Orange had a season-high 16 3-pointers. It was the most points scored in a conference game for Orange since Derryl Britt became the head coach in 2018. It was Orange’s most lopsided conference win since they defeated East Chapel Hill 82-32 on December 17, 2019. Among the highlights was Cloer draining a 35-footer, with a defender right in front of him, from the midcoast logo along with Thomas Loch sinking a 3-pointer from the corner as the first quarter expired.

Kris Barnwell led the Warriors with 15 points. He was the only Western Alamance player in double figures.

Orange started this season with an abundance of youth and hopes to simply make the state playoffs for the first time in six years. Now, they’re 13-6, 5-2 in the Central Carolina Conference, tied with Person for second place. With six games remaining in the regular season and a postseason birth all but sewed up, Britt said afterwards the focus on the remainder of the season will be on mental strength for the playoffs.

“We talked about flipping the switch, going to another level, landing in another gear,” Britt said. “We did what we said we wanted to do. Now we have to maintain it. It can’t be for one game.”

Defensively, Orange didn’t led up in the second half. The Warriors got only four points in the third quarter. Pennix drained three 3-pointers in the third quarter, the last of which started a running clock with the Panthers got its lead over 40 points. Pennix has been in double-figures in eight of Orange’s last ten games.

On Tuesday night, the Panthers will host Walter Williams in another big game. Orange upended the Bulldogs 66-59 on December 16. The Bulldogs are one game behind Orange for third place in the CCC and are coming off a 31-point home loss to Northwood. If Orange wins, they will control the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Bulldogs with four conference games remaining.

Orange hasn’t hosted a game in a conference tournament since 2016.

“None of my guys have been to the playoffs,” Britt said. “My goal is to start to prepare for that now. They’re going to see a different level of intensity, a different level of physicality. We started preparing for that over the past week-and-a-half. The first time around the conference, we finished 4-2. Now, we have to validate that. We have to confirm that. We can’t have a letdown.”

Playing its first home game in a month, the Orange men’s basketball team had a dominant showing against Western Alamance on Friday night. The Panthers stomped out to an 8-0 lead in the opening 1:34 and routed the Warriors 84-36. It was Orange’s most lopsided conference win since they defeated East Chapel Hill 82-32 on December 17, 2019. Orange sophomore guard Xandrell Pennix scored 15 points off five 3-pointers. Kai Wade added nine points. Orange’s 3-point machine had its most prolific game of the season. The Panthers drained a season-high 16 3-pointers. Orange has won 13 games, its best total since the 2016-17 squad. Coleman Cloer led all scorers with 19 points. Orange’s goal at the beginning of this season was to make the 3A State Playoffs for the first time in six years. The Panthers are currently ranked #17 in the 3A East RPI Index, putting them in range to host a state playoff game. Orange is currently tied with Person for second place in the Central Carolina Conference with a 5-2 record. The Panthers will have a showdown against Walter Williams on Tuesday night in Hillsborough, continuing a four-game homestead. Tipoff will be ten minutes after the women’s game, which starts at 6PM.

Orange’s Xandrell Pennix, Kai Wade & Freddy Sneed discuss win over Western Alamance

No Description

In what may have been the biggest upset of the Central Carolina Conference this women’s basketball season, Orange led by as many as 23 points and rolled past Western Alamance 71-54 on Friday night in Hillsborough. Senior Erin Jordan-Cornell scored 17 points for the Lady Panthers, who defeated a Western Alamance team that was ranked #1 in the 3A East Region just two weeks ago. The Warriors rolled past the Panthers 58-39 on December 13. Orange countered Western Alamance’s 3-point attack with some big shots from downtown of their own. Freshman Addie Atkins had a season-high 14 points, including a clutch 3-pointer in the third quarter that shut down a Warriors threat after they had whittled the Panthers’ lead down to 12 points. Orange led by as many as 23. Atkins had been a regular starter for Orange alongside seniors Jordan-Cornell, Nikayla Whitted and Jada Reed. The Panthers have won six of its last seven games, including victories over Walter Williams and Western Alamance. On Tuesday, Orange will face Williams again, their third matchup against the Bulldogs in five weeks. They will meet again on Tuesday night in Hillsborough with tipoff at 6PM.

Orange’ Erin Jordan-Cornell & Addie Atkins discuss women’s basketball upset of Western Alamance

In what may have been the biggest upset of the Central Carolina Conference this women’s basketball season, Orange led by as many as 23 points and rolled past Western Alamance 71-54 on Friday night in Hillsborough.