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Photo by Carly Williams

There’s something to be said for a grinding, proud team that plays hard for its coach regardless of the opposition. That’s what Cedar Ridge men’s basketball is right now.

If a program is lucky, once every 10-15 years it finds itself with a player or two that collects multiple Division I college offers and shows why every night they step onto the floor.

That’s Orange basketball right now.

The differences stood out on Wednesday night.

Orange led by as many as 31 points against its crosstown rival and defeated Cedar Ridge 82-53 at Panthers Gymnasium. Sophomore point guard Kai Wade and forward Coleman Cloer each finished with 18 points while junior Xandrell Pennix added 16 as the Panthers defeated the Red Wolves for the sixth straight time.

Junior Braeden Wilbourn led the Red Wolves with 15 points while senior center Harrison Perel added 13 points and nine rebounds.

Since the start of 2024, Orange has won three straight Central Conference games by an average of 34 points and haven’t trailed at any point. The Panthers (5-10, 4-0 in the Central Conference) are tied with Eastern Alamance in the loss column for first place in league play.

Through a twist of fate on scheduling, Orange is facing its crosstown rival and its Highway 57 rival in the same way. After dispatching of Cedar Ridge, the Panthers will face Person tonight in Hillsborough on two days rest.

The Rockets have beaten the Panthers five straight times, including three last year. The Panthers last win over the Rockets came on December 15, 2014.

“We’re on a mission,” said Orange coach Derryl Britt. “We’re focused on the big picture. We’re trying to win these individual games one at a time, but we’re on a team mission and a team goal. That is if we beat everybody in the conference the first time around, I believe that half of the conference is going to beat each other up. That would make it extremely difficult for anybody to catch us.”

Orange junior Xandrell Pennix opened the game with seven points in the first quarter, the hottest in a line of hot hands for the Panthers. Orange had four three-pointers in the first quarter, which included treys from Cloer, Wade and Keaton Westbrook. The Panthers shot 8-of-11 from the field in the opening stanza to take a 20-11 lead.

The Panthers had 26 points in the second quarter and built a 46-21 halftime lead. Orange center Ryan Honeycutt finished with ten points and eleven rebounds, his fifth double-double of the season.

Orange finished with 44% shooting from the field and out rebounded the Red Wolves 50-39, including 19 offensive rebounds.

Pennix opened the second half with a three-pointer, which started a highlight show that delighted the packed Orange student section, most of whom were adorned in white t-shirts. Pennix stole the subsequent inbounds pass and threw a off-the-backboard ally-oop to Cloer, which flushed it down with a reverse dunk to send the home side of the gymnasium into a frenzy.

Orange built its lead to 61-27 after another 3-pointer from Pennix with 4:10 remaining in the third quarter. Perel triggered a comeback that got the Red Wolves within 65-44 with 7:01 left in the fourth quarter. Perel scored eleven of his 13 points in the second half. Freshman Jordan Jacobson, who scored the game-winning basket against Chatham Central on Monday night in overtime, scored ten points for the Red Wolves.

Orange’s Hector Garrido came off the bench to score seven points and grab four rebounds. Michael Clark, who played as a freshman on the varsity two years ago, chipped in six points and grabbed six rebounds in garbage time.

Cedar Ridge will return home to face Eastern Alamance tonight in Hillsborough at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

It’s not news that another Orange women’s basketball game went down to the wire.

All four of its Central Conference contests this year have followed the same path. The only different on Wednesday night was Orange was opposed by Amiyah Ware, who was more than they could deal with.

Now, after Cedar Ridge’s first win at Orange since December 19, 2017, it’s officially game on in the race for the Central Conference championship.

Ware added to her legacy of statistically incredible performances with 35 points in the Red Wolves 54-47 win over the Panthers on Wednesday night. It wasn’t the 54 points that she scored against Western Alamance last February, which broke the Orange County record. But Ware did either score or assist on every Cedar Ridge field goal in the second half.

Evelyn George, who was matched up against Ware most of the night, led Orange with 21 points.

It was the Red Wolves first win over its crosstown rival since January 8, 2019. On that night, Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 44-37 at Red Wolves Gymnasium behind 23 points from Madison Wardlow.

“She really stepped up tonight,” said Cedar Ridge coach Megan Skouby. “The past couple of games after she got hurt I think was a little hesitant. This game she really picked it back up again.”

Cedar Ridge’s win overshadowed a strong performance by Orange center Marshea Byrd, who finished with the first double-double of her career with 12 points and 12 rebounds. With 1:16 remaining in regulation, Byrd fouled out after trying to block a shot from Ware. Orange, who played without sophomore forward Mariah Poole, missed Byrd’s post presence in the extra session.

After Byrd’s fifth foul, Ware sank a free throw to tie the game at 42-42.

Cedar Ridge didn’t miss a shot in overtime. After Orange won the jump ball, Ware pulled down a defensive rebound and sank a three-pointer over George to give the Red Wolves a 45-42 lead. Junior Sarah Utley stole the ball away from Shannon Murphy on Orange’s next possession and split two free throws after being fouled by Maura McMurtry.

After Murphy scored off an offensive rebound to cut the Red Wolf lead to 46-44, Cedar Ridge freshman Kate Finnegan drained a jumper from the top of the key off a pass from Utley.

Finnegan, who wasn’t even on the varsity when Cedar Ridge started its season in November, finished with ten points and seven rebounds.

“She isn’t afraid to shoot,” Skouby said. “That’s something you can’t teach a freshman. She’s working hard. We pulled her up from junior varsity a couple of weeks ago and she’s now one of our starters because she’s working her butt off.”

Orange missed a three-pointer on its next possession and Ware drained four three throws in the final 90 seconds to put the game away.

The contest had 12 lead changes and six ties. Just as they had done against Western Alamance, Southern Alamance and Walter Williams, it appeared Orange would mount a late run to earn another home win. After Ware scored the opening points of the fourth quarter, Byrd and George scored field goals, both assisted by McMurtry, to put the Lady Panthers ahead 36-34.

Ware wouldn’t be denied as she went on a personal 6-0 run to vault the Red Wolves ahead 39-36. Following a free throw by Lily Crayton with 4:36 remaining, McMurtry grabbed an offensive rebound and fed George for a 3-pointer to put Orange ahead 40-39.

Following a Cedar Ridge timeout, Ware drained a baseline jumper off a drive with 2:12 remaining to give Cedar Ridge the lead at 41-40. After an Orange turnover, Alexis Stephens blocked a shot by Cedar Ridge’s Addie Reid, which led to a fast break where George scored off a lay-up from a pass by McMurtry.

Cedar Ridge, who fielded a team with only five players during the pandemic three years ago, is now tied with Orange, Western Alamance and Eastern Alamance for first place in the Central Conference in a race that is anything but predictable just one-quarter of the way into the league slate.

“I think on any given night, whoever is playing their best is gonna come out on top,” Skouby said. “I think a lot of games are going to go down to the end this year.”

Amiyah Ware came up with her biggest game of the season for the Cedar Ridge women’s basketball team on Wednesday night. The end result was Cedar Ridge’s first win over its crosstown rival, Orange, since 2019. Ware finished with a season-high 35 points as the Red Wolves defeated Orange 54-47 in overtime. It was Cedar Ridge’s first win inside Panther Gymnasium since December 19, 2017. Ware either scored or assisted on all 22 points that Cedar Ridge scored in the second half. Ware tied the game at 42-42 with a free throw with 1:16 remaining in regulation. Cedar Ridge never trailed in overtime after Ware opened with a three-pointer on the Red Wolves opening possession. Kate Finnegan sank a crucial jumper from the top of the key off a feed from Sarah Utley with 1:54 remains in overtime to put the Red Wolves ahead 48-44. Ware has had another big week. On Monday night, she scored 17 point in Cedar Ridge’s 46-35 win over Chatham Central. Cedar Ridge is 9-5 overall and tied for first place in the loss column with three other teams in the Central Conference. The Red Wolves haven’t won ten games in a season since 2017-2018, when they were coached by Felton Page. Cedar Ridge will face Eastern Alamance tonight at 6PM at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Cedar Ridge women’s basketball’s Amiyah Ware & head coach Megan Skouby discuss win at Orange

Amiyah Ware came up with her biggest game of the season for the Cedar Ridge women’s basketball team on Wednesday night. The end result was Cedar Ridge’s first win over its crosstown rival, Orange, since 2019. Ware finished with a season-high 35 points as the Red Wolves defeated Orange 54-47 in overtime.

From the start of this season, Cedar Ridge men’s basketball coach Mike Jones has touted freshman point guard Jordan Jacobson as a rising star. On Monday night, Jacobson showed why Jones is so enthusiastic. He scored the game-winning three-pointer with :5.4 remaining in overtime as the Red Wolves defeated previously undefeated Chatham Central 53-52 in overtime. Not only did Jacobson hit the game-winning shot, but he also put the game into overtime with a 16-footer with :8.1 remaining to even the score 46-46. Jacobson had a career-high 12 points. Braeden Wilbourn paced Cedar Ridge with 18 points. Chatham Central led 43-36 with 3:51 remaining before the Red Wolves finished regulation with seven consecutive points. Wilbourn scored on a lay-in off an assist from Jacobson to start the comeback. Then Wilbourn hit two free throws off a technical foul to put the Red Wolves within a bucket. After Jacobson knocked down the 3-pointer in overtime, Wilbourn sealed the game with an interception of a skip pass by the Bears. Afterwards, Jones called it the Red Wolves best win of the season. Last week, Cedar Ridge upset Person at Red Wolves Gymnasium. Cedar Ridge will return home tonight (Friday) against Eastern Alamance for a doubleheader. The women’s game will be at 6PM while the men’s game starts at 7;30. 

Cedar Ridge men’s basketball’s Jordan Jacobson & Braeden Wilbourn talk with vs. Chatham Central

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Over the past three years, Gabriel Schmid has become the most accomplished runner in Orange High history. On Wednesday afternoon, Schmid formally signed his letter of intent to run for the N.C. State men’s cross country team, which has won 16 Atlantic Coast Conference championships and nine Southeast Regional championships. Schmid is just the second runner in school history to win a state championship in cross country. He has two individual state championships, winning the 2022 title as a junior and once again in November as a senior. Unlike the summer of 2022, Schmid didn’t have the ability to train last summer because of a foot injury. Nonetheless, he helped the Orange men’s cross country team win the Central Conference championship and the 3A Mideast Regional championship. It was the second regional team title that Schmid helped Orange win. In addition to cross country, Schmid has won four 3A Mideast Regional championships in outdoor track & field in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. Last year, he won the 3,200 meters state championship at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro. Schmid also competed in the Foot Locker National Championships in San Diego last month. The ceremony to honor Schmid starts his final chapter with the Panthers. He will compete this indoor season for the Orange Track and Field team. He will then enroll at N.C. State in the spring. Gabriel’s mother, Gretchen, was on hand for the ceremony on Wednesday, as was his brother Grant.

Orange cross country runner Gabriel Schmid signs with N.C. State

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Even in the darkest hole, you’d be well advised to never count out Cedar Ridge men’s basketball this season.

It wouldn’t make much sense to think that Cedar Ridge could take down Chatham Central on Monday night, especially when the Bears came into the game 12-0.  Chatham’s first win came against Cedar Ridge, 65-48, on November 21 in Bear Creek.

Since then, the Bears had beaten ten of its twelve opponents by double-figures. Only Seaforth (64-57) and Southeast Alamance (69-64) had given Chatham Central a competitive game.

Yet not only did the Red Wolves pull off a 53-52 upset in overtime on Monday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium, but it was a freshman who paved the way.

Jordan Jacobson drilled the game-winning three-pointer with :5.4 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Red Wolves to its third win of the season. In the final sequence, Cedar Ridge’s Landon Dalehite had an open look from the left elbow but missed a three-pointer. The Red Wolves Braeden Wilbourn attempted a catch-and-shoot on the rebound, but it was blocked by the Bears’ Aidan Johnson. Cedar Ridge center Hayden Kirk knocked the ball back to Jacobson on the wing for the game-winning shot.

Jacobson was responsible for the game going to overtime in the first place. He drained an 18-footer with :8.1 remaining in regulation to even it up at 46-46. The Bears’ Reed Albright missed a three-point attempt over Dalehite at the fourth quarter buzzer.

The Bears’ final chance to win was intercepted by Wilbourn, who swiped a skip pass and dribbled up the floor untouched. As the clock ran out, a triumphant Cedar Ridge coach Mike Jones thrust both of his fists into the air in jubilation for possibly the biggest win in his second year on the job.

“We’ve got so much more confidence now,” Jones said. “I’m so proud of my guys. They were down in the fourth quarter but they never got down on themselves. I knew Jordan was ready to take those shots. He has the confidence to do that. I love my team.”

Wilbourn led Cedar Ridge with 16 points. Jacobson had a career-high 12 points.

Jeremiah Young came off the bench to lead the Bears (13-1) with 17 points. Albright added 13.

Wilbourn started overtime with a beautiful spin move down the lane for a lay-in. Albright responded with two free-throws to even the game at 48-48. It appeared Dalehite would have a chance to put the Red Wolves ahead by three when he drove the lane for his own lay-up, but he was called for a charge as he collided with Johnson.

Chatham Central’s Luke Gains split two free throws to put the Bears ahead 49-48. Wilbourn responded with a gorgeous lay-in off the dribble.

While the Bears have a wide array of outside shooters, for a fleeting moment it appeared their hero would be Logan Maness, who drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner with 1:01 remaining in overtime. It was Maness’ only points of the game and vaulted the Bears ahead 52-50.

Cedar Ridge trailed 30-26 at the half. The Bears increased its lead to 43-36 with 3:51 remaining after a 15-foot jumper by Young. Jacobson started the comeback with a lay-up on a dribble drive. Dalehite blocked a shot by Alrbright on the next Chatham possession and fed Jacobson, who hit Wilbourn down the floor for another lay-in. Seconds later, a Chatham Central reserve who never played in the game was hit with a technical foul after he yelled something to an official about the lack of a foul call on Dalehite’s block.

Two free throws by Wilbourn cut Chatham Central’s lead to 43-42 with 2:36 remaining.

The Red Wolves will face Orange tonight in Hillsborough. While the Red Wolves will be underdogs, it’s something that Jones won’t worry about after a memorable Monday night.

“This win stomps that Person win,” Jones said. “This was a bigger one.”

In the nonstop thrill ride that is Orange men’s basketball, things can get hectic fast.

From ally-oop slam dunks to shot blocks that wind up in the fourth row of the Orange student section, the Panthers can fill up a highlight reel easily. Add in an Orange home crowd that has nearly packed the home grandstand to capacity twice this year, the subsequent noise can send adrenaline to peak levels.

Against Walter Williams on Friday night, there was an overload.

Early in the second quarter, sophomore point guard Kai Wade found classmate Mason Robinson for an ally-oop dunk that sent the gym on its ear. Moments later, the Orange bench was hit with a technical fall when a reserve said something on the bench. As Orange extended its lead too 21-10, there was confusion over the possession arrow at the scorer’s table, which led to an Orange High School administrator walking over to try to quell the situation.

As the confusion wound down, Orange coach Darryl Britt adjusted his stool as action restarted. An official thought that Britt slammed the end of his stool onto the court in frustration over a foul that was called against Orange and gave him another technical, leading to Britt’s ejection. Britt barely protested and appeared more confused that angry as he led the gym.

Bitt watched the rest of the game off the National Federation of High School Sports Network feed on his iPad while assistant William Dobbs took over the reigns.

As the Orange fans showered the officials with boos, the Panthers made sure there wouldn’t be any drama for the rest of the night.

Orange went on a 16-0 run where the scoring was balanced between several starters and cruised to a 77-40 win over the Bulldogs. Coleman Cloer finished with 22 points and eight rebounds while junior Xandrell Pennix added 19 points, six rebounds and five steals.

Orange (5-10, 3-0 in the Central Conference) maintained its share of first place in the Central Conference. The Panthers and Eastern Alamance are the only teams undefeated in league play.

The Bulldogs were limited to 24% shooting from the field. Cavion Stokes paced Williams (5-4, 0-2) with eleven points.

Orange had 18 assists on 27 field goals. Senior center Ryan Honeycutt added ten points and six rebounds.

It was the first time that Dobbs found himself in a situation where he was the head coach of a team since he led the Cedar Ridge women’s team for two seasons, ending in 2021.

“Coach Britt and I before the beginning of every game,” Dobbs said. “I know ahead of time what his plans are and what we plan to do. Unfortunately, tonight he had to step out and I had to step in. But I know the game plan and we just preceded with what we had mapped out.”

For the second straight game, Orange never trailed, though they started slowly from the field. The Bulldogs Brian Williams canned a jumper with 1:35 remaining in the first quarter to even the score at 6-6, the game’s only tie. That seemed to snap Orange out of its funk as they scored eight points in the final 1:27 of the first quarter.

Cloer drained two free throws, followed by a three-pointer from Pennix off a drive-and-dish from Cloer. Then Clower nailed a 20-footer just before the buzzer.

Stokes knocked down two free throws following Britt’s technical foul to cut Orange’s lead to 21-14. Cloer took a pass from Wade for a one-handed dunk to trigger Orange’s big run. Wade, who finished with six assists, fed Honeycutt for another two-handed flush, increasing Orange’s lead to 25-14 and the Bulldogs would never get in double figures again.

Freshman Hector Garrido came off the bench to score seven points, grab three rebounds and dish out two assists for Orange in the second half.

The Cedar Ridge women’s basketball team found its backbeat again.

In any good rock n’roll band, the backbeat provided by the drummer keeps everything in rhythm, provides proper time and makes everything swing properly.

Amiyah Ware is the Neil Peart or Keith Moon of the Cedar Ridge women’s team.

Ware returned to the lineup after she missing two games with a right knee injury. In her absence, the Red Wolves had 33 turnovers against Person, but still managed to scratch out a 46-43 victory over the Rockets.

While it took time for Ware to get her offensive engine cranked up against Southern Alamance, her ball-handling reliability chopped down Cedar Ridge’s turnover total to a mere 18 miscues.

Ware scored a season-high 28 points, including seven 3-pointers, as the Red Wolves defeated Southern Alamance 48-43 at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Friday night.

Cedar Ridge (8-5, 2-1 in the Central Conference) were held to nine points in the opening 15 minutes, but shot 7-of-11 in the third period to take a 32-29 lead into the fourth quarter.

Ware gave the Red Wolves the lead for good with a 3-pointer off a pass from Sarah Utley with 5:40 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Patriots were led by Sunny Yarnell, who finished with eleven points, but fouled out after she was called for a charge when she ran into Red Wolf freshman Kate Finnegan. Ware scored the Red Wolves next four points, including a 3-pointer assisted by Finnegan. Ware also drained several free throws in the final minute.

Morgan Isley and Madison Brouillard also each had eleven points for the Patriots (4-9, 0-3).

While Ware didn’t start the game, the Red Wolves were limited to just three shots from the field in the opening quarter. The Patriots took a 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter as Yarnell scored the first three field goals.

Cedar Ridge will travel to Orange on Wednesday night at 6PM.

Orange 46, Walter Williams 44: The Orange women’s basketball team is now the only undefeated team in Central Conference play after they survived a battle with Walter Williams.

Orange used a 20-4 run at the end of the third quarter to overcome an early deficit to the Bulldogs. Junior Evelyn George sparked the run for the Lady Panthers (8-4, 3-0 in the Central Conference). George finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Addie Atkins added eight points.

Williams forward Reagan Averett led all scorers with 17 points, while Alaiyah Mitchell added ten points.

With 6:36 remaining in the third quarter, Williams’ Jordan Taylor scored off a lay-in off a pass from Scout Winter to put the Bulldogs egghead 27-21. Orange sophomore Maura McMurtry nailed a three-pointer off a pass from Atkins to spark an Orange run. After a field goal by Taylor, McMurtry dropped in a straightaway three-pointer off a pass from Alexis Stephens. Orange sophomore Mariah Poole tied the game off a steal and lay-in at 29-29.

Averett knocked down two free throws for the Bulldogs, but that would be its last lead. Orange guard Shannon Murphy tied the game with a jumper, which was followed by a steal by George, who scored on a lay-in. George would score off a stickleback basket, then added a 3-pointer at the third quarter buzzer assisted by McMurtry to increase the Panthers’ lead to 38-31.

McMurtry opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, followed by another lay-in by George with 6:37 remaining in regulation to build the Orange advantage to 43-31. That turned out to be Orange’s final field goal.

The Bulldogs would chip away at the lead with Averett scoring a three-pointer off a feed from Winter. Atkins hit two free throws with 2:15 remaining in the fourth quarter to build the Orange lead back to 46-40.

Taylor and Aaliyah Mitchell scored field goals to cut the Bulldog lead to 46-44 with :48 remaining. Williams’ full court pressure led to an Orange turnover in a frantic final 10 seconds, but the Bulldogs threw the ball away in a rush to get the ball to the basket with :3.1 left. With Orange clinging to a 46-44 lead, McMurtry took the inbounds pass and dribbled away from Mitchell long enough to run out the clock.