Orange Men’s Basketball

Orange brought its block party to venerable Bulldogs Gymnasium in Burlington on Friday night and came away with a win in its final conference game of 2022. The Panthers defeated Williams 66-59. Orange held the Bulldogs to only three field goals in the fourth quarter mainly because of stellar defensive work by sophomore Freddy Sneed and freshman Mason Robinson. With Orange trailing 47-44 going into the fourth quarter, Xandrell Pennix drained a 3-pointer to open the final frame. Orange coach Derryl Britt played three freshmen most of the fourth quarter. Coleman Cloer led all scorers with 27 points, while Kai Wade added 23. Robinson, another freshman, and Sneed both came up with huge blocks throughout the second half to offset the Bulldogs big bodies inside. It was Orange’s fifth road win of the season, more than the previous two seasons combined. Orange will have one more game before Christmas. They will face Southern Alamance on Wednesday night in Hillsborough. Then the Panthers will start play in the South Granville Holiday Tournament on December 28 when they open with East Wake in the opening round.

Orange’s Freddy Sneed & Mason Robinson discuss win at Walter Williams

Orange brought its block party to venerable Bulldogs Gymnasium in Burlington on Friday night and came away with a win in its final conference game of 2022. The Panthers defeated Williams 66-59. Orange held the Bulldogs to only three field goals in the fourth quarter mainly because of stellar defensive work by sophomore Freddy Sneed and freshman Mason Robinson.

For the past three years, the measuring stick of men’s basketball across Orange, Chatham and Alamance Counties has been the Northwood Chargers.

They’ve won two of the last three Big 8/Central Carolina Conference championships, 22 consecutive conference games and played for the 3A State Championship in 2021.

Orange is off to its best start in four years, despite often starting four players who have never played at the varsity level before this season. Off to a 6-2 start and coming off a road win at Western Alamance on Tuesday night, the Panthers saw Wednesday’s game against Northwood as a litmus test to see how far a young but skillful team was from challenging a state championship contender.

The answer is there’s still plenty of work to do.

The Chargers reeled off 13 straight points in the first quarter and shot 8-of-11 from 3-point range in the first half to beat the Panthers 72-47 at Panther Gymnasium on Wednesday night. The Chargers (7-1, 2-0 in the Central Carolina Conference) have beaten Orange nine straight times. The Panthers last win over the Chargers came on February 1, 2017.

Jake Leighton led Northwood with 17 points. Drake Powell, who committed to play at UNC over the summer, added ten points and nine rebounds as the Chargers won for the second time in two nights.

Sophomore Xandrell Pennix paced Orange (6-3, 1-1) with eleven points. Ryan Honeycutt, a junior center in his first season on the varsity, added ten points.

“I come away from this game feeling doggone good about my ball club,” said Orange coach Derryl Britt. “We led these guys get away on a run in the second quarter where they knocked down several 3-pointers. They knocked down quality shots. We contested them, so kudos to them. We knew they were a good team coming in.”

Orange actually started with six straight points to open the game, including stickback buckets in the paint from Honeycutt and senior Isaiah Seymour despite the massive presence of Northwood’s 6-11 center Kenan Parrish and 6-foot-9 forward Max Frazier.

That’s when the Chargers’ downtown machine got going. Powell canned the first of eleven 3-pointers with 4:56 remaining in the first quarter, then drained another to give the Chargers an 8-6 lead. Leighton added a field goal off an assist from Frazier, followed by Parrish showing off a soft touch from outside with a 3-pointer from straightaway.

The Chargers shot 10-of-12 from the field in the second quarter to push its lead to 47-24 at halftime, outscoring the Panthers 27-14 to keep their advantage in double-digits the rest of the way.

Britt remained positive afterwards despite the loss. The Panthers have a short turnaround before a Friday game against Walter Williams in Burlington, where Orange has lost its last three trips.

“We never get too high off of wins and we never get too low off losses,” Britt said. “We take them for what they are. We have another tough game on Friday. Our intent is to make Williams executive as well as Northwood executed tonight.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: NORTHWOOD 60, ORANGE 27 

Northwood, the defending 3A State Champions, rolled past Orange for its fourth straight win in the opening game of the doubleheader on Wednesday night.

Freshman Alyia Roberts and senior Gianna McManaman teamed up for a three-point attack that sent Orange reeling early. Roberts had a career-high 18 points off the bench. McManaman added 16 points as the Chargers (4-3, 2-0) won its 37th consecutive conference game. The Chargers, who have won three consecutive conference championships, defeated the Lady Panthers for the eighth straight time.

The Lady Panthers (4-5, 0-2) were led by sophomore Evelyn George, who had seven points. McManaman drained a three-pointer at the end of the first quarter to put the Chargers ahead 15-8 and Northwood wasn’t challenged again.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore men’s basketball guard Xandrell Pennix. This season, Pennix is the second-leading scorer for an Orange team that has started 7-2, its best start under head coach Derryl Britt. On November 18, Pennix scored 14 points in a victory over East Chapel Hill. On November 29, Pennix scored a career-high 19 points in a 67-66 victory at Franklinton. In his freshman season, Pennix was called up to the varsity after Orange’s stint in the South Granville Holiday Tournament. He made a strong first impression by scoring 13 points against Walter Williams This season, Pennix has scored in double figures in seven of Orange’s nine games. That includes 14 points in Orange’s win at Riverside on December 2 in Durham, the Panthers first win over the Pirates since 2014. Pennix has been a regular starting guard for an Orange team that is looking to make the state playoffs for the first time in six years. Though he’s a sophomore, Pennix actually provides a veteran presence since his fellow starters are spending their first season at the varsity level. That includes Pennix’s cousin, freshman point guard Kai Wade.

Orange Panther of the Week: Xandrell Pennix

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore men’s basketball guard Xandrell Pennix. This season, Pennix is the second-leading scorer for an Orange team that has started 7-2, its best start under head coach Derryl Britt. On November 18, Pennix scored 14 points in a victory over East Chapel Hill.

ELON–In previous years, it was a game that Orange would lose.

On the road in its Central Carolina Conference opener, the Panthers saw an 11-point lead trimmed down to two late in the third quarter against Western Alamance. The Panthers’ leading scorer, Coleman Cloer, just picked up his fourth foul.

The whistles and bounces were going against them but this Orange team is too skilled, and perhaps too young, to care. Probably because they know if one player drops off, another will fill the void.

Once again on Tuesday night, that person was Xandrell Pennix.

After being quiet for much of the night, Pennix scored eleven points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 6:07 remaining to break a 36-36 tie, which was followed by another 3-pointer by freshman Kai Wade. The Panthers would go on to defeat Western Alamance 57-45 at Coach Erma Adams Court.

Orange (7-2, 1-0 in the Central Carolina Conference) captured its first conference opener since 2018, when they defeated East Chapel Hill.

In his first conference game, Wade led Orange with 19 points. Cloer, another freshman, finished with 15 points. It’s the ninth time in nine games that Cloer has finished in double-digits.

Western Alamance (1-5, 0-1) was led by senior Brooks Allred, who scored 14 points.

Since the start of this season, Orange’s goal has been to reach the state playoffs for the first time since 2017. Every team’s state playoff hopes depends on what happens in conference play, which may have been why the Panthers opened the game tight.

In the opening quarter, Wade scored nine of the Panthers eleven points. The Panthers closed out the first half with a 12-2 run to take a 27-18 lead to the locker room.

Senior Darius Corbett drew from his experience as a centerback in soccer to steal the inbounds pass that opened the second half and score on a lay-in to give the Panthers 29-18 lead, its largest advantage of the game.

The Warriors fought back with a three-point play from center Nick McGhee, who finished with nine points. Allred canned a three-pointer to bring the Warriors within five points. Senior guard Kris Barnwell drained back-to-back field goals to whittle the Panthers’ lead down to one point, and the Warriors had three separate chances to take the lead late in the third quarter but failed.

Orange has already won four road games this season. Last year, the Panthers won three road games, including a win at Western Alamance in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament quarterback.

Women’s basketball: Western Alamance 58, Orange 33:

A barrage of 3-pointers from guards Allie Sykes and Bri Pulliam lifted Western Alamance past Orange in the women’s game to open the doubleheader on Tuesday night.

Pulliam scored 17 points for the Warriors (5-1, 1-0), while Sykes added 16. After a tough start, Orange held the Warriors without a field goal in the opening 4:32 of the second quarter. The Panthers whittled an early nine-point deficit down to a bucket, but the Warriors closed out the second quarter with eleven straight points to essentially put the game away.

Senior Nikayla Whitted knocked down two 3-pointers in the first quarter. Senior center Erin Jordan-Cornell was the only Lady Panthers in double figures with ten points. Whitted finished with nine.

Tina Bowers, who came into the game about three minutes into the first quarter, scored 13 points off the bench.

It’s the start of a difficult schedule for Orange to begin the CCC slate. On Wednesday night, the Panthers face the defending 3A State Champions, Northwood, in Hillsborough. On Friday, Orange will travel to Burlington to face Walter Williams, who finished second in the CCC last season.

The Orange women will travel to Southern Durham next Tuesday.

For the first time since 2019, the Orange men’s basketball team has won its conference opener. The Panthers defeated Western Alamance 57-45 on Tuesday night at Coach Evans Court in Elon. On a night where the Panthers started slow offensively, freshman Kai Evans carried Orange early, scoring nine of the Panthers’ eleven points in the first quarter. The Warriors erased an 11-point lead and tied the game in the fourth quarter, but Xandrell Pinnix drained a key 3-pointer off a missed free throw. Wade followed minutes later with another 3-pointer, both crucial baskets after the Panthers’ leading scorer, Coleman Cloer, picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter. Cloer added 15 points, his ninth straight game in double figures. Wade finished with a game-high 19 points. Orange has already won more road games this season (four) than they did all of last season. It’s a hectic week for the Panthers. They play three Central Carolina Conference games in a span of four days. On Wednesday night, they face the defending CCC Conference champions, Northwood, led by Drake Powell, who has committed to play at North Carolina. The game will be in Hillsborough. Orange will travel to Walter Williams on Friday night.

Orange’s Kai Wade & Darius Corbett discuss win at Western Alamance

For the first time since 2019, the Orange men’s basketball team has won its conference opener. The Panthers defeated Western Alamance 57-45 on Tuesday night at Coach Evans Court in Elon. On a night where the Panthers started slow offensively, freshman Kai Evans carried Orange early, scoring nine of the Panthers’ eleven points in the first quarter.

Nothing anything different?

Not just around the website, but around Hillsborough sports this winter?

Funny how that works. Winter is a season closely associated with the end, whether it’s the end of the calendar year or the final years of someone’s life. For this website, a new theme was recently required simply because the old one was no longer eligible to be updated. So I opted for something that is more of a magazine format that will showcase new faces, more teams and hopefully more schools. We’re also honored to showcase the cheerleaders for Cedar Ridge and Orange for the first time under our new tab and we look forward to continue that for years to come.

It’s also a new winter season and we’ve hit the ground running with basketball coverage. It’s our honor to do it. So far, we’ve broadcast 16 basketball game over the first three weeks of the year.

For the Orange men’s basketball team, it’s their best start since 2019-2020. It’s unlike any team that Coach Derryl Britt has ever had. Frankly, I’m not sure I can recall any team anywhere that got off to a 6-2 start while regularly playing seven players in their first year at the varsity level–three of them starters.

The Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team won three games in November under new head coach Mike Jones, who has had to learn under pressing circumstances. A former assistant at East Chapel Hill High, Jones wasn’t hired until three weeks before the season started. Fortunately, senior Colton Taylor has provided leadership to help a young team in a deep conference.

In wrestling, the Orange is looking to defend its Central Carolina Conference championship. It appears their main challenger will be Person. In the Jim King/Orange Invitational last week, the Panthers finished fifth. Cary, which has won the JKO more than any other team since its start in 1980, returned to the top this year with 183 points.

For this edition of the Magnificent 7, we’re going to focus on the first three weeks of the winter sports season. We’ll have another column later this week honoring last week’s recipients.

1. Coleman Cloer, FR., Orange men’s basketball: How can a start be any more impressive? As a freshman, Cloer led the Panthers in scoring in his first varsity game against East Chapel Hill. On November 29, Cloer hit two free throws with :7.2 remaining to propel Orange past Franklinton inside Red Rams Gymnasium.
2. Colton Taylor, SR., Cedar Ridge men’s basketball: Led the Red Wolves with 16 points in Chris Jones’ first win as the head coach of the Red Wolves against Durham School of the Arts on November 21. A week later, Taylor had another solid game as Cedar Ridge defeated East Chapel Hill, the place where Jones was an assistant under head coach Ray Hartsfield.
3. Kaden Tatro, JR., Cedar Ridge wrestling: Won the 182-pound championship at the Red Wolf Invitational on November 19. Tatro, who qualified for the 3A State Championships last season as a sophomore, won his opening 18 matches of the season, including 12 pins. He won against Orange and Chapel Hill during a quad match last week at Orange High.
4. Fernando Martinez, SR., Cedar Ridge wrestling: Won his 100th career match against Omar Rushing of Western Alamance. He became the fifth wrestler in school history to win 100 matches. Martinez, the defending 113-pound Mideast Regional champion, is off to a 15-3 start with eleven pins. He has already surpassed Ethan Knapp for 4th place on Cedar Ridge’s all-time wins list.
5. Xandrell Pennix, SOPH., Orange men’s basketball: As a sophomore with barely a year’s experience on the varsity team, Pennix has become Orange’s most established long-range shooter. Pennix scored 18 points in the win at Franklinton. He added 14 points in the season-opener against East Chapel Hill, 15 points vs. Franklinton.
6. Jada Reed, SR., Orange women’s basketball: Scored 12 points in the season-opening win over East Chapel Hill. Reed, who replaced Aaliyah Harris as the starting point guard, added a career-high 18 points against Franklinton on November 29. She also led Orange with eight points in a loss to Chapel Hill on November 22.
7. Acoya Isley, SR. Orange wrestling: Finished 2nd for the Orange wrestling team in the 195-pound championship of the JKO. Isley, who also qualified for the State Championships last year, is off to a 9-1 start with eight pins. He opened the year with wins over Southern Durham, Enloe and Eastern Alamance as the Panthers are undefeated in dual meets to begin the year.

CARRBORO–It didn’t take the Orange men’s basketball team long to equal win numbers from a year ago.

Orange, starting four players in their first varsity season, hit a season-high 12 3-pointers to defeat Carrboro 76-46 at Jaguars Gymasnium on Tuesday night. Freshman Coleman Cloer paced the Panthers with 20 points, while sophomore Xandrell Pinnix added 12.

The victory was Orange’s third road victory of the year. Last year, the Panthers won three road games all season.

Truman Terry led the Jaguars (0-4) with eight points.

Orange hit a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter to push its lead to 11-2 in the first quarter and largely cruised from there. With Orange coach Derryl Britt utilizing a full-court press, the Panthers got a three-pointer from Cloer, followed by another from Pinnix. Cloer had eleven points in the opening quarter.

Another freshman, Kai Wade, finished with eight points. In the waning moments of the third quarter, Wade took a rebound from Thomas Loch and threw in a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Orange (5-2) has opened the season with four road games in seven contests. After starting the year with a victory over East Chapel Hill at home, the Panthers got a one-point win at Franklinton when Cloer hit two free throws with :7.2 seconds remaining. Three days later, Orange held off Riverside 59-56 at Chambers Court, Orange’s first win over the Pirates since 2013.

Most nights, Britt starts at least four players playing their first season at the varsity level. Cloer and Wade are freshmen. Junior Ryan Honeycutt played baseball last spring before earning a spot on the basketball team because his 6-foot-6 frame was too much for Britt to ignore. Honeycutt had ten points against Carrboro.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: ORANGE 41, CARRBORO 36

A huge shot from sophomore Addie Atkins propelled the Orange women’s team past Carrboro at Jaguars Gymnasium in the opening game of the doubleheader. It was the Lady Panthers’ second straight road win.

With Carrboro leading 34-32, Atkins took the ball after a held ball and calmly drilled a three-pointer with 3:19 remaining in regulation. Just moments earlier, Carrboro’s Yazmin Paisant put the Jaguars into the lead with a running one-hander. It was the Jaguars’ first advantage since the early moments of the game.

It was Atkins’ only field goal of the night, but Orange finished the game on a 9-2 run. Moments later, Nikayla Whitted scored on a drive to vault Orange ahead 37-34.

Whitted had a career-high 14 points, the only Orange player in double figures. Senior center Erin Jordan-Cornell finished with seven points to help the Lady Panthers (3-3).

Carrboro (1-3) was led by Briana Campbell, who finished with 12 points.

Jordan-Cornell picked up two fouls in the first quarter, depriving the Lady Panthers of its main low-post presence for most of the first half. Whitted made up for it with ten points in the first half, including two 3-pointers in the opening quarter.

Jordan-Cornell scored all seven of her points in the third quarter. Senior Addie Reid finished with six points.

The Lady Panthers were coming off a 46-8 victory over Riverside at Chambers Court on Friday night. The Lady Panthers held the Pirates to only one field goal in the final 20 minutes.

Whitted had eleven points for Orange. Reed added eight points while Jordan-Cornell scored seven.

Orange will have one final nonconfernce game before its Central Carolina Conference opener next week. The Lady Panthers will host the Durham School of the Arts on Friday night at Panther Gymnasium at 6PM. Orange will have three CCC games next week, starting with a road trip to Western Alamance on Tuesday night at 5:30. Orange will host Northwood, the defending 3A State Champions, next Wednesday night. They will travel to Walter Williams on December 16.