Orange Men’s Basketball

ELON–From McLeansville to Creedmoor to Burlington to Hillsborough to Roxboro to Graham to Reidsville to Elon.

All told, it’s been ten consecutive games away from home for the Orange men’s basketball team since they last played inside Panther Gymnasium on December 20. Five of them were conference games and the team knew before Christmas the long stretch would make or break their hopes of winning a second consecutive Central Conference regular season championship.

The Panthers are now set for the stretch run tied with Eastern Alamance for first place.

On Friday night, Kai Wade scored 23 points to lead a wire-to-wire 79-57 win at Western Alamance on the Coach Evans Court. From the time Wade fired a 18-footer that kicked high off the back iron and fell through the net, it was possibly Wade’s finest performance of the season.

Senior Xandrell Pennix added 12 points, placing him at 932 career points as Orange improved to 14-5. Freddy Sneed added 14 points for the Panthers, who are 7-1 in the Central Conference. Orange has defeated the Warriors seven consecutive times.

In its last home game, Orange rolled past Western Alamance 73-48. The rematch on Friday held the potential for more intrigue because Warriors guard James Newton didn’t play against the Panthers in Hillsborough. Newton, who has committed to play football at Gardner-Webb, was in South Carolina for the Shrine Bowl.

Newton had a huge scoring game in the Warriors upset of Eastern Alamance on January 3. On Friday night against Orange, he was limited to ten points, going scoreless in the second half.

After Newton banked in a 3-pointer to cut Orange’s lead to 8-6, Wade and Pennix responded with consecutive 3-pointers. Newton found Matt Huffman for a lay-in, but Hector Garrido found Jalen Crayton for a monster stuff directly in the face of Camden Oliveira.

Sneed increased Orange’s lead to 18-13 after a strip and steal, but Oliveria responded with a 3-pointer. Wade took the drama out of it when he drained a 27-foot 3-pointer as the quarter wound to a close to give the Panthers a 27-16 lead.

Newton scored an early 3-pointer in the second quarter, but the Warriors had an inability to cash in second-chance points that could have kept the game close. The Panthers shot out to a 9-2 run to put the game away. Wade finished the first half with 18 points.

In the fourth quarter, senior Ethan Ellis drained two 3-pointers. Kamaal Smith would finish with seven points.

Orange will face Walter Williams tonight (Tuesday) to start a string of five consecutive home games to conclude the regular season.

Women’s Basketball: Western Alamance 60, Orange 48: 

Orange played Western Alamance to its closest conference game of the season, but the Warriors claimed its 18th consecutive win against a Central Conference opponent. Looking for its second consecutive league title, senior Allie Sykes led the Warriors with 18 points.

Orange’s Evelyn George scored 22 points. It was her fifth 20-point game of the season and the 13th of her career.

The Warriors didn’t trail but Orange played a much more competitive contest than their previous matchup on December 20. In the fourth quarter, Orange center Marshea Byrd had a personal 10-0 run for Orange.

Once again, the Warriors excelled with 3-point shooting. Emma Johnson finished with 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Sykes knocked down four 3-pointers as Western Alamance improved to 14-2 overall, 6-0 in the Central Conference. The Warriors snapped the Lady Panthers six-game winning streak.

Western Alamance’s bench outscored Orange 10-5.

Orange falls to 10-7, 4-3 in the Central Conference. The Lady Panthers will return home to face Walter Williams on Tuesday (tonight) in Hillsborough. It will be the start of a two-game homestand for Orange women’s basketball. On Friday night, they will host crosstown rival Cedar Ridge.

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The Orange men’s basketball team will start its final third of the season against Western Alamance on Friday night in Elon. The Panthers currently are tied with Eastern Alamance for first place in the Central Conference. The game against Western Alamance will end a string of ten consecutive games away from home for Orange, which hasn’t played inside its own gymnasium since December 20. Orange is 13-5 overall. Among their most dramatic wins came on November 22 when they defeated Mt. Zion Christian Academy 60-56 in Hillsborough. Senior Ethan Ellis drained a dramatic 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining to put the Panthers ahead. Point guard Kai Wade led the Panthers with 18 points against the Warriors. Xandrell Pennix added 16 as Orange pulled out a dramatic win at home. Senior Michael Clark scored ten points. It was one of several vital nonconference wins for the Panthers, who would go on to beat Chapel Hill on December 10. It was the Panthers first win over the Tigers since 2019. After this Friday, Orange will have six consecutive home games to wrap up the regular season. The Panthers will try to win the Central Conference regular season championship for the second year in a row. Pennix will try to surpass 1,000 points in his career. Pennix has over 900 points after Orange’s win at Southern Alamance last week.

Orange men’s basketball’s Kai Wade, Ethan Ellis & Freddy Sneed discuss win over Mr. Zion Christian

The Orange men’s basketball team will start its final third of the season against Western Alamance on Friday night in Elon. The Panthers currently are tied with Eastern Alamance for first place in the Central Conference. The game against Western Alamance will end a string of ten consecutive games away from home for Orange, which hasn’t played inside its own gymnasium since December 20.

Photo by Ben McCormick of the Courier Times

At the risk of dating myself more than I already do, I’m a massive fan of The Who.

I sit on my couch many nights while I’m writing and listen to “Who’s Next,” “Tommy,” “Face Dances.” I even like “Who are You,” generally considered their worst album and released just as their drummer Keith Moon died in 1977.

Most Who fans that do even the most basic research about the band understand two things:

1. They haven’t really been a band since 2002 when their bassist, John Entwhistle, died in the most rock n’ roll way possible. In Las Vegas, naturally.

2. The two surviving members, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, hate each other.

Perhaps that bitterness is from Townshend, who wrote most of the band’s songs. Maybe he’s upset that his solo career didn’t rise to the popularity of the Who and couldn’t surpass his work from the 1960s and 1970s.

The bottom line is regardless of how much animosity exists between the two, which is plenty, Townshend and Daltrey do their best work together.

Which brings us back to January 9 in Roxboro.

The Orange men’s basketball team was down 28-9 against Person with 5:30 remaining in the first half. The Rockets had a 13-0 record and looked unstoppable. Orange wasn’t just on the ropes. They were on the verge of being knocked out of the Central Conference championship race before MLK Jr. Day.

In prior years, Orange may have turtled up inside its shell, got blown out by 25 points and traveled back up Highway 57. Instead, Xandrell Pennix came up with his best game ever in Roxboro, scoring 19 points. Orange made 11-of-14 shots in the third quarter, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range. Orange trailed by nine at halftime. By the end of the third quarter, they were up nine.

The fact they didn’t have their point guard, Kai Wade, because of foul trouble didn’t stop them. Ethan Ellis, Freddy Sneed, Jalen Crayton, and Michael Clark all made big plays down the stretch.

The fact that a conference championship race hung in the balance wasn’t lost on both times. That’s why trash talk went back-and-forth and the night continued.

In other words, it was a rivalry.

And they brought out the best in each other.

And it’s been one for a long time. Some of my earliest memories as a high school student go back to being a camerman for the Orange junior varsity basketball team in the early 1990s. Winning at Person was HARD. I’ve seen Orange men’s basketball play in Roxboro at least 15 times. The win two weeks ago was only  the second time I ever saw Orange beat Person.

Plus, when I was 15, Person’s gym felt mammoth. I was used to bandbox gymnasiums. The fact that Person had a second deck where you coach watch the games down below made it seem like it was Madison Square Garden in my sheltered mind.

For over two decades, that rivalry ended when Orange moved down from being a 4A team in 2001 when Cedar Ridge opened. But Person and Orange were reunited as conference rivals when the Central Conference was formed in 2022.

That’s now in jeopardy.

Last month, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association released its first draft of conference realignment for the new eight classification system. Orange would be in a league with Cedar Ridge, Seaforth, Durham School of the Arts, South Granville and Webb. It would be a group of exclusively 5A teams, one of the few non-split conferences in the new alignment.

Person would remain a 5A team, as well. They would be with Eastern Alamance, Western Alamance, Southeast Alamance, Williams, Southern Alamance, and Rockingham County.

It’s a bad draw for Orange and Person. They’re natural conference rivals not just in terms of geography, but also competition. Last year, Orange football’s most inspired effort came against Person. They’re also natural rivals in softball. Many of the Lady Panthers live in northern Orange County, only about 10-15 minutes from Roxboro.

If the first draft of the new alignment is passed, Orange and Cedar Ridge won’t have any traditional rivals aside from each other. Webb was in the old Big Eight Conference with Orange and Cedar Ridge in the 2010s, but the games with the Warriors were hardly the stuff of legend.

Geographically, Person could fit in a league based in Granville County. The Rockets were rivals with Webb for years in the 80s and 90s.

Part of the reason why Person remains such a rich area for high school athletics is because they still have traditional media outlets. They have WKRX Radio, which broadcasts the Person football and basketball games. They have a newspaper, run by my friend Kelly Snow, that puts the Rocket first and foremost in their coverage. And their fan following, unlike other schools in bigger cities, hasn’t suffered.

That’s what makes games like January 9 so special. And high school sports special.

Orange and Person don’t like each other.

And they do their best work together.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior men’s basketball guard Xandrell Pennix. On Tuesday night, Pennix surpassed 900 career points in Orange’s 76-36 win over Southern Alamance. Last week, Pennix played possibly his greatest half of basketball at Person. With Orange trailing Person 28-9, Pennix scored 14 points in the second half, including three 3-pointers in the third quarter. Pennix scored the game-winning basket on a lay-in with 2:56 remaining as the Panthers won 67-65. Midway through the 2021-22 season, Pennix was called up to the varsity squad as a freshman. He immediately made a difference by scoring 13 points in just his fourth varsity game at Williams. Since then, Pennix has been a vital part of an Orange team that went from eight wins his freshman year to winning the Central Conference regular season and tournament championship in his junior season. This year, Orange is 13-4, it’s best start since the 2016-17 season. Pennix scored 18 points in a win over Northern Durham. Last year, Pennix scored 21 points in a victory over Currituck County in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. Pennix’s incredible shooting ability will remain his legacy after he graduates from Orange in June. His presence over the past four years has led to the Orange men’s basketball program returning to championship form.

Orange Panther of the Week: Xandrell Pennix

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior men’s basketball guard Xandrell Pennix. On Tuesday night, Pennix surpassed 900 career points in Orange’s 76-36 win over Southern Alamance. Last week, Pennix played possibly his greatest half of basketball at Person.

GRAHAM–It was bound to happen.

Throughout the year, Orange center Jalen Crayton has teased a euphoric, exhilarating slam dunk when set up under the basket. He came close at the end of 2024 against Western Alamance, but the ball ricocheted off the room high in the air.

Not only did Crayton deliver a monster dunk in Orange’s rout of Southern Alamance on Tuesday night, but he delivered several, sending the visitors bench and fan section at Patriots Gymnasium into hysteria each time.

That was the theme of a dominant 76-36 Orange win. Senior Xandrell Pennix surpassed the 900 point mark in his career with 14 points, including the opening 3-pointer of the game in a wire-to-wire Panther win. Junior Kai Wade scored 20 points to lead Orange, who crossed the midway point of the Central Conference season tied with Eastern Alamance for first place. The Panthers improved to 13-4, 5-1 in league play.

The Patriots (3-11, 1-3) entered the game shorthanded with shooting guard Bo Day sidelined with a walking boot. in the first quarter, starting guard Kolby Kronberg’s injured his ankle after getting a lay-up blocked going up against Orange’s Freddy Sneed.

Orange went on a 20-0 run in the first half to take a 39-9 lead late in the first half. Pennix scored ten points in the opening quarter. Wade drove at will against the Patriots guards and scored nine of his 20 points in the second quarter. Orange nearly held Southern Alamance without a point in the second quarter until Micah Stone scored on a lay-in with 43 seconds remaining in the first half.

Crayton had three dunks in the second half to finish with a career-high 12 points. Coming off a game where he had six blocks against Person, Crayon added two blocks.

Orange sophomore Hector Garrido added seven points and Barrett Liner came off the bench to drain a 3-pointer during garbage time.

Orange is the first team in the Central Conference to reach the midway point of the league campaign. They will step out of Central Conference play to face undefeated Reidsville on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers will end a 10-game road swing with a crucial trip to Western Alamance next Tuesday.

Women’s basketball: Orange 56, Western Alamance 13

The Lady Panthers (9-6, 4-2) held Southern Alamance without a field goal for over 20 minutes in an easy win on Tuesday night in Graham.

Orange spread the wealth on offense with eight different players winding up on the score sheet. Addie Atkins opened the game with a 3-pointer as the Lady Panthers never trailed in improving to 9-6 overall, winning its fifth straight.

Atkins, Alexis Stephens and Maura McMurtry each scored nine points. Orange led 12-5 at the end of the first quarter after Southern’s Emory Gilley scored on a lay-in. The Patriots wouldn’t score another field goal until late in the fourth quarter when Jaylin Palmer knocked down a short jumper while getting fouled.

Orange started to pull away after McMurtry drained two 3-pointers in the first quarter. Senior Shannon Murphy scored all eight of her points in the second quarter. Atkins drained two more 3-pointers in the second half to establish a new personal season-high. Senior center Marshea Byrd scored eight points in the first half.

Senior Kyla Mehl added eight more points in the third quarter, including two 3-pointers.

Chloe Caldwell, Payton Borland, Rhiley Crabtree, Chloe Caldwell, Bryce Jones and Annabelle Monteith all played in the fourth quarter. Orange established a running clock after their pushed their lead to over 40 points early in the third quarter.

Sarah Kathryn Maness led Southern Alamance (2-11, 0-4) with four points.

Orange will travel to Reidsville on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Panthers will continue its Central Conference slate against Western Alamance in Elon on Tuesday night.

The Orange men’s basketball team is in the midst of a 10-game road swing. It started on December 23 when the Panthers defeated the Ivanhoe Knights based out of Australia at Northeast Guilford High. For the past four years, Orange senior Michael Clark has been a quiet, forceful leader. Last week in the Panthers’ thrilling win over Person, Clark scored eight points, including a lay-in with 22 seconds remaining to secure a victory where Orange roared back from 19 points down. Clark had 14 points in Orange’s win over Cedar Ridge last week. Against East Wake, Clark scored 14 points in the South Granville Holiday Invitational Tournament. Just before Christmas, Clark scored 15 point as the Panthers rolled past Western Alamance 73-48 for the Panthers first Central Conference win of the season. Clark has been a vital part of Orange’s 13-4 record, its best start in the seven-year stint of head coach Derryl Britt. Clark broke through the varsity level in the 2020-2021 season along with fellow freshmen Xandrell Pennix and Freddy Sneed. After taking their lumps early, the talent, speed and camaraderie of Clark, Pennix, Sneed and Kai Wade have taken the Panthers to the top of the Central Conference. Clark has been an important part of Orange’s success. After a decisive win at Southern Alamance on Tuesday night, Orange will step out of conference to play at powerful Reidsville on Saturday.

Orange men’s basketball forward Michael Clark discusses 13-4 start to the season

The Orange men’s basketball team is in the midst of a 10-game road swing. It started on December 23 when the Panthers defeated the Ivanhoe Knights based out of Australia at Northeast Guilford High. For the past four years, Orange senior Michael Clark has been a quiet, forceful leader.

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Comeback wins don’t come much more special than what the Orange men’s basketball team pulled off on Thursday night. Trailing 28-9 in the second quarter, the Panthers shot 11-of-14 from the field in the third quarter to stun Person 67-65 in Roxboro. The Rockets came into the game with a 13-0 record. Senior Xandrell Pennix scored 19 points, scoring ten points in the third quarter to lead the comeback. Another senior, Michael Clark, added eleven points, including two 3-pointers in the third quarter. Clark also had a lay-in with 12 seconds remaining off a gorgeous pass from Hector Garrido that put the game away. It was a crucial win for Orange, who tied the Rockets for first place in the Central Conference. Senior Ethan Ellis drained a huge 3-pointer after Person took a 63-60 lead midway through the fourth quarter. From there, the Rockets were held scoreless in the final 3:50 of regulation until the very end. Orange sophomore Kamal Smith scored a career-high nine points, all of 3-pointers. Two of them came in the third quarter. Pennix is now at 894 career points as he plays the final games of his Orange career. Orange will continued a 10-game road swing when they travel to Graham to face Southern Alamance on Tuesday night.

Orange basketball’s Xandrell Pennix, Michael Clark and Kamal Smith discuss comeback win at Person

Comeback wins don’t come much more special than what the Orange men’s basketball team pulled off on Thursday night. Trailing 28-9 in the second quarter, the Panthers shot 11-of-14 from the field in the third quarter to stun Person 67-65 in Roxboro. The Rockets came into the game with a 13-0 record.

Photo by Ben McCormick of the Courier Times

ROXBORO–The Funky Freight Train rolled through Roxboro.

That’s what Derryl Britt told his Orange men’s basketball team at halftime on Thursday night for inspiration. It didn’t matter that Person, coming in with a 13-0 record,  led 33-24 at halftime. At one point, Orange trailed 28-9.

Britt had faith and he needed it.

He had no way of knowing his starting point guard would sit for much of the second half because of foul trouble in a game that would likely determine Orange’s fate of winning a second consecutive Central Conference championship.

Even without Wade, Britt’s mantra that the train was coming proved true.

The Panthers (12-4) shot 11-of-14 from the field in the third quarter, keyed by Xandrell Pennix scored ten of his 19 points in the frame. Trailing by nine going into the second half, Orange led 54-45 at the end of the third quarter.

Showing a new level of grit in the midst of ten consecutive road games, Pennix scored the game-winning field goal on a driving lay-up with 2:47 remaining as Orange defeated Person 67-65 inside a feverish Rockets Gymnasium on Thursday night. The Panthers held Person scoreless in the final 3:58 aside from a meaningless 3-pointer from Quante Bowman with two seconds remaining.

By that point, Orange senior Michael Clark had sewed up the game on a lay-in off a perfectly delivered backdoor pass from center Hector Garrido.

Now, the race in the Central Conference is wide open entering the final eight games of the regular season. Person, Orange and Eastern Alamance are tied in the loss column for first place in the league. Orange is 4-1 in the league, while the Eagles and the Rockets are each 2-1.

How big was coming back from a 19-point deficit to beat an undefeated Person team in Roxboro?

“Aside from winning the conference tournament championship here last year, I’d put it right behind it,” Britt said. “We’ve had some milestone wins in my seven years here, but not as big as this. We knew that we were going to be in the mix with Person for the conference championship. For those guys to be undefeated and for us to come into this building, it’s gratifying.”

Last February, Orange defeated Person and Eastern Alamance in Roxboro to win the Central Conference Tournament.

Even though Orange erased a 19-point deficit in less than seven minutes of game time, the odds of the Panthers winning seemed to grow against them as the night progressed. Wade picked up his third and fourth fouls with 6:34 remaining in the third quarter after receiving a technical foul, singled out for taunting on a night where the trash talk between the two rivals flowed like champagne on New Year’s Eve.

Orange sophomore center Jalen Crayton, who finished with eight blocks, fouled out with 6:07 remaining in the fourth quarter.

In a heated game, it was a night of attrition. Person’s Lance Clarke, their leading scorer, was hampered throughout the second half. As Pennix scored the game-winning layup, Clarke came down wrong on his right leg and had to be carried off the floor by his teammates. He didn’t return.

Bowman led Person (13-1) with 19 points.

In the fourth quarter, the Rockets went on a 12-0 run with Tae Winstead scoring six straight points. Clarke scored off a lay-in off a feed from Jashawn Graves to put Person  ahead 60-59 with 4:32 remaining. Clarke scored in transition of a pass from Bowman, which would be the Rockets final field goal before the waning seconds. Orange’s Ethan Ellis banked in a crucial 3-pointer from 25 feet to tie the game at 62-62.

Over the next 4:26, Orange’s defense forced four turnovers and Person miss three shots from the field and two free throws with Clarke being worked on the Rockets bench.

Pennix and Freddy Sneed combined to scored ten consecutive points to open the second half. Sneed’s only 3-point attempt put the Panthers’ ahead 34-33 with 6:34 remaining in the third quarter. After Person’s DaeJon Hodge dropped in a lay-in to tie the game at 39, Orange scored on five straight possessions, including 3-pointers from sophomore Kamal Smith and Michael Clark. Later, Clark dropped in a lay-up to put the Panthers ahead 53-43.

Person used hot shooting from Clarke and seven offensive rebounds to take a 20-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Clarke score seven points in the first quarter while Bowman added six. The Rockets went on a 13-0 run in the gap between the first and second quarters with Bowman’s layup putting the Rockets ahead 28-9 with 5:44 remaining in the first half.

Orange slowly ate away at the lead in the final five minutes of the first half after Clarke picked up his second foul. Wade and Pennix drained consecutive shots from downtown. Wade made a pull-up jumper for the final field goal of the first half to get Orange’s deficit down to 33-24.