Orange High School

ROXBORO–In Roxboro, frantic is a way of life on the basketball court.

Every tipped loose ball can lead to an ally-top in transition, which always triggers a gargantuan roar from the stands that are packed on Friday nights. It’s a style of play that keeps the fans coming to Rockets Gymnasium and something that a young Orange squad hasn’t caught up with yet.

Person, playing without injured center Lamont Johnson, overcame foul trouble to leading scorer Julian Crawley to defeat Orange 91-77 on Friday night in Roxboro, its third straight win over the Panthers. It was a battle of attrition as the Rockets had enough firepower to overcome the loss of Crawley, who picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter. Sophomore Lance Clarke led the Rockets with 30 points.

The Panthers had four players foul out. Freshman Coleman Cloer, who played most of the second half with four fouls, led Orange with a season-best 35 points. Another freshman, Kai Wade, added 20 points despite being disqualified late in the fourth quarter.

In his first 17 games as a varsity player, Cloer has scored in double-figures in 16 of them. He has eight 20-point games, including a 25-point outing agains Cedar Ridge last Tuesday.

Person (12-2, 2-1 in the Central Carolina Conference) won just days after being blown out by 77-45 by Northwood in Pittsboro.

The Panthers (11-6, 2-2) haven’t won in Roxboro since December 15, 2014.

While the Panthers forced 18 turnovers, including four steals from Darius Corbett, they shot only 6-of-30 from 3-point range. The Panthers had a 6-4 lead following a 3-pointer with 5:48 remaining in the first quarter, but couldn’t consistently knock down shots from outside. Person shot 11-of-13 from the field in the opening quarter, led by 12 points from Crawley. After Crawley was forced to the bench early in the second quarter, sophomore Lance Clarke picked up the void with nine points in the second quarter.

Orange still had a chance to take the lead late in the third quarter after Corbett stripped the ball away from Isaiah Smith and scored on a lay-in to cut Person’s lead to 47-46. After Orange missed a 3-pointer, Clarke sank two free throws, which was the theme of the second half. That triggered a 14-1 Person run that kept the lead in double figures for the balance of the game.

Person went 29-of-47 from the foul line, mainly because the Panthers continued to foul late. Orange shot 17-of-23 from the charity stripe.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Orange 60, Person 25

Another double-double from Sophomore Evelyn George led the Orange women’s basketball team over Person 60-25 in Roxboro on Friday night. Orange (9-8, 2-3 in the Central Carolina Conference) has won five in a row.

George finished with 20 points and ten rebounds. George has had five games this year where she’s finished with double-figure rebounds. She had 14 points and 12 rebounds in a 53-47 win over Walter Williams in the Eastern Guilford Holiday Invitational on December 27.

Orange outscored Person 18-0 in the first quarter. Sophomore Addie Atkins had two 3-pointers in the opening eight minutes. Atkins finished with eight points.

Senior Jada Reed scored 12 points, her seventh game in double-figures scoring in the last eight contests. Reed’s season-high of 18 points came against Franklinton on November 29.

Senior center Erin Jordan-Cornell, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the Eastern Guilford tournament, finished with six points and eight rebounds.

Mekayla Bradsher led Person with nine points. Orange, who had nine players in uniform, had eight players score. Sophomore Maura McMurtry had six points off the bench.

The Lady Panthers five game winning streak is its longest since the opening of the pandemic season of 2020, when they reeled off five straight victories. The Lady Panthers, who were the only team in Hillsborough to make the 3A State Playoffs last year, are currently ranked #19 in the MaxPreps 3A East Region.

Dillon Heffernan became the 49th wrestler in Orange High history to win 100 matches. On senior night, Heffernan edged Northwood’s Ronald Walker 6-5 to take his 100th win. He becomes the first Orange wrestler to win 100 career matches since Kessel Summers did it in 2021. Heffernan reached the milestone despite losing most of his sophomore season due to the pandemic. Last season, Heffernan finished second in the Mideast Regionals at 126 pounds. He was the top seed going into the tournament after finishing the regular season with a 26-9 record. Over the summer, Heffernan elected to move up three weight classes to 145 pounds, where he already has an individual championship this year. Heffernan has been a member of two conference championship teams with Orange. Next week, the Panthers will journey to Roxboro to face Person with the winner taking the Central Carolina Conference championship. This weekend, Heffernan will join the Panthers as they compete in the annual Quentin Crosby Invitational at Dudley High School in Greensboro. Orange is undefeated as a team in dual matches this year.

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The Orange men’s basketball team has made a habit of bing in tight games down the stretch this season. On Tuesday night agains their crosstown rival, they played in another. Facing Cedar Ridge, the Panthers ended the game on a 20-5 run to defeat the Red wolves 57-47 at Red Wolves Gymnasium. Freshman Kai Wade scored ten of his 17 points in the final quarter as the Panthers improved to 11-5, 3-1 in the Central Carolina Conference. The victory came after a fourth place finish in the Columbia Bracket of the South Granville Holiday Tournament, an event the Panthers easily could have won. South Granville defeated Orange 67-65 in the semifinals, a game Orange led 64-58 with 1:33 remaining. The following day in the 3rd place game, Sanderson defeated Orange 55-54 when Tommy Lyon hit a shot at the buzzer. Against the Spartans, Orange Sophomore Xandrell Pennix scored eleven points. Coleman Cloer scored 25 points to lead Orange against Cedar Ridge. The Panthers will continue its season against Person in Roxboro on Friday night.

Orange’s Xandrell Pennix & Kai Wade discuss win over Cedar Ridge

The Orange men’s basketball team has made a habit of bing in tight games down the stretch this season. On Tuesday night agains their crosstown rival, they played in another. Facing Cedar Ridge, the Panthers ended the game on a 20-5 run to defeat the Red wolves 57-47 at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

When a team that regularly plays three freshman loses at the buzzer against a top-10 regional opponent, chances are they’ll learn something from it.

When that same team loses again at the buzzer the very next day, then it’s a crash course.

That’s what happened to the Orange men’s basketball team last week against South Granville (ranked #7 in 2A East Region) and the next day against Sanderson (ranked #4 in 4A East). On Tuesday night, mired in a five-point hole early in the fourth quarter to its crosstown rival, the young Panthers showed they took the lessons painfully delivered to them in Creedmoor and learned them well.

Orange (11-6, 3-1 in the Central Carolina Conference) defeated Cedar Ridge 57-47 at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Tuesday night. The freshman tandem of Coleman Cloer and Kai Wade combined to score all 20 of Orange’s points in the fourth quarter. Cloer finished with 25 points. Wade finished with 17 points, ten in the fourth quarter.

“This was a tough game,” said Orange coach Derryl Britt. “It’s a conference game against a crosstown rival. That can be a tough situation when you have a lot of young players. They haven’t played in a lot of these game and learn how to block out all the noise. Facing Cedar Ridge is a lot to overcome for younger guys. Towards the end of the game, we did what we’ve been trying to get back to which is Kai and Coleman being the closers.”

Cedar Ridge (3-7, 0-3), playing for the first time since December 16, received a huge game from senior Colton Taylor, who scored 21 points.

“Captain Colt is someone everyone on the team rallies around,” said Cedar Ridge head coach Mike Jones. “I didn’t think the whistles evened out in the end, but I’m not one to make excuses. I’m proud of the way our team fought. It would have been nice to play before December 16 and it would have been nice to practice yesterday. We’ll get better with this game.”

In the final minute of the third quarter, Cedar Ridge’s Landon Dalehite drained a three-pointer from the corner to even the game. Jonovan Wingate took a skip pass from Taylor to sink another 3-pointer to give the Red Wolves a 37-34  with :05 remaining. Cloer calmly took the subsequent inbounds pass and sank a 21-footer at the buzzer to even the game going into the fourth quarter.

The Red Wolves bolted out to a 42-37 lead with 6:00 remaining in the fourth quarter. Harrison Perel took a bounce pass from Corin Wingate and laid it in. After Cloer missed a three-pointer, Taylor knocked down a three-pointer.

Orange outscored the Red Wolves 20-5 down the stretch. Freshmen Kai Wade and Coleman Cloer scored all 20 of the Panthers points in the fourth quarter. Cloer drove past Taylor under the basket for a lay-in with 4:55 remaining. After the Red Wolves missed its own lay-up, Cloer dropped in a finger roll to tie the game 42-42.

Perel took a jump pass from Jonovan Wingate and gave the Red Wolves its final lead off a lay-in. Cedar Ridge’s foul trouble caught up with them in the final minutes as Perel, Taylor and Luke Orstad all fouled out. Wade tied the game off two free throws, then the Panthers’ Darius Corbett stole the ensuing inbounds pass, which led to Orstad’s fifth foul. Cloer’s split two free throws to put the Panthers ahead 45-44 with 3:34 remaining.

Wade drew another foul and knocked down two more from the charity stripe to put Orange ahead 47-44. Perel came back with a baseline jumper with 2:27 remaining. Wade went around a screen from fellow freshman Mason Robinson to sink a 15-foot baseline jumper.

After a Cedar Ridge turnover, Wade put the dagger in when he buried a pull-up 15-footer to put Orange ahead 51-44 with 1:06 remaining.

While Cloer and Wade carried the load for Orange in the fourth quarter, the Panthers were more balanced in the first half. Five Panthers scored in the first half. Cedar Ridge’s half-court defense held Orange in check during the second quarter. The Red Wolves scored only five points in the second quarter, all from Taylor, but still trailed by only two points, 20-18, at halftime. Taylor had nine points in the first half.

At one point, Taylor scored seven consecutive Cedar Ridge points from the start of the second quarter to the middle of the third until Luke Orstad scored on a lay-in.

It was the first Orange-Cedar Ridge game for Jones, who was named head coach of the Red Wolves in November. After Britt lost four straight game to Cedar Ridge in 2019-2021, he has now beaten the Red Wolves three straight times.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior basketball guard Nikayla Whitted. On December 6th, Whitted set her career-high with 14 points in Orange’s 41-36 win over Carrboro. On December 2, Whitted scored  eleven points as the Lady Panthers defeated Riverside 46-8 in Durham. Last week, Whitted was named to the All-Tournament team for the Eastern Guilford Holiday Invitational in Gibsonville after Orange won the championship. Whitted started the tournament with eleven points as the Lady Panthers defeated The Burlington School on December 26. Presenting the award to Whitted was Orange guard Jada Reed, who has been teammates with Whitted since they played together with the Orange Parks and Recreation Department. Both have started each game this season for Orange. Last week’s tournament win for the Orange women’s basketball team was its first tournament championship since the 2017 team won the Big 8 Conference Tournament. The Orange women’s basketball team was the only basketball team in Hillsborough to reach the state playoffs last year. This year’s team will look to reach the state playoffs, as well. The Lady Panthers will host Cedar Ridge tonight at Orange High Gymnasium.

Orange Panther of the Week: Nikayla Whitted

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Photo by Katie Medley 

December is always a busy month for the Orange wrestling team.

They usually compete in three individual tournaments, including hosting their own on the first Saturday of the month. There’s always the Tiger Holiday Invitational, among the largest in the state, either the week before or the week after Christmas. And then there’s the annual two hour trip to Oakboro for the West Stanly Duals.

As a team, Orange will go into the new year with an undefeated dual record.

On Friday, the Panthers emerged from Oakboro with five wins. The Panthers defeated Montgomery Central 54-24; West Stanly 66-16 and Metrolina Christian Academy 69-9. Orange also won two other dual matches to remain undefeated during the dual season.

Orang also had another wrestler move closer to 100 career wins. Dillon Heffernan pinned Jagger Dry of West Stanly and Luke Niday of Metrolina Christian Academy. That places him at 99 career wins. Heffernan will attempt to become the latest member of Orange’s 100 career wins club on Wednesday night in Hillsborough when the Panthers face Northwood. Fittingly, it will be senior night.

A year after the Panthers reached the Eastern Regional Finals of the 3A East Dual Team Tournament, the Panthers are 14-0, 4-0 in the Central Carolina Conference. Orange is two wins away from its third consecutive conference championship. Following Northwood, Orange will face Person.

Orange has won 18 conference championships in the last 19 years.

A week earlier, four Panthers placed in the Tiger Holiday Invitational. The annual event brought 37 teams from across the state to Chapel Hill High School on December 22 and 23.

Orange’s Acoya Isley, whose record was 16-2 after the tournament, wound up finishing 2nd at 195 pounds. In the championship match, top-seeded Joshua Knipe of West Carteret defeated Isley 6-3. With 40 seconds remaining in the first period, Knipe scored a reversal and scored back points to take a 3-0 lead. Isley escaped but trailed 4-2 at the end of the first period.

In the semifinals, Isley defeated Bo Schiano of William Hough 12-1 to reach the finals. Isley started the tournament by pinning Elisha Roberts of Southern Durham in 1:26. In the quarterfinals, Isley pinned A.J. Pile of Croatan in 1:18.

At 152 pounds, senior Sam Crawford finished 4th place. Crawford reached the consolation final after a forfeit win over Adam Yessef of Pinecrest. Crawford pinned Ja’Bari Stroud of Durham School of the Arts in 28 seconds. In the consolation round, Crawford pinned Jonathan Moses of Jacksonville in 2:22. Crawford, who is 14-6 on the year, defeated Houston Leeah of Union Pines via pinfall in 2:43.

Heffernan finished fifth at 145 pounds. He pinned Har Htoo of New Bern in 1:55  in the fifth place match to improve to 18-3 on the season. Heffernan reached the semifinals after he edged Will McRae of Hough 2-0. In the second round, Heffernan pinned Noah Ramirez of Jack Britt in 40 seconds. Tyler Tracy of Cardinal Gibbons, who eventually won the championship, defeated Heffernan via technical fall.

At 126 pounds, Orange’s Braden Crawford also finished fifth. Crawford defeated Mason McMullen of Jacksonville 10-4 in the opening round. Crawford reached the semifinals after beating East Chapel Hill’s Asher Yeo 7-4. Liam Hickey of Cardinal Gibbons, another eventual champion, pinned Crawford in the semis. In the fifth place match, Crawford defeated Yeo again by an 8-4 margin.

Junior Andre Hill finished sixth at 170 pounds. Hill, an offensive lineman in football, started with a 10-1 major decision over Dustin Maness of Union Pines. Hill advanced to the semifinals after Richard Post of Rutherfordton-Spindale was injured.

Orange went into the Tiger Holiday Classic without the services of two wrestlers who qualified for the state championships last year. The Panthers finished eighth in the team standings with 109 points. Union Pines won the team championship with 180.5 points. Cardinal Gibbons finished second with 150.5 points.