Photo Credit: Will Okun[/caption]By: Jason Slaughter
On Friday, February 13, the OHS Panther’s varsity basketball team fell in a tough loss at Cedar Ridge High School and ended an eight-game win streak with a score of 63-69.
The mighty Panthers came out to a great start, led by 1000-point scorer Jawan Chambers. Logan Vosburgh and Garrett Cloer were key on rebounds and offensive boards to take Orange into halftime with a fifteen-point lead.
In the second half, it was a real battle at the Ridge. Cedar Ridge junior Payton Pappas was lighting the three-point line up to bring his team within ten going into the fourth quarter. Sophomore guard Connor Crabtree was quiet in the first half but came up big with his clean passes to a lightning-fast Tay Jones and the wide-open Chambers. Juniors Jace Jordan-Cornell and Demares Drummond were crucial coming off the bench.
Since the two teams were consistently neck and neck, the crowd cheered loudly throughout the game. Cedar Ridge came back to take the lead with one minute to go, and, when Jones fouled out, it looked unpromising for the Panthers, but that didn’t stop them. A quick three by Crabtree brought the score to 63-66 in favor of the Red Wolves.
With 20 seconds to go, Cedar Ridge got a fast break, and Crabtree was in the chase but was a little too late. He had to end up fouling for a chance to add three to their lead with an extra shot at the free-throw line. The score stuck at 63-69 while Pappas started to run the clock out, and the Panthers fell short.
When asked about the game, Brendan Huss said, “I thought the game was real loud and hype. I didn’t think they could come back from our fifteen-point lead.” Crabtree added, “We lost a hard one today, but we got to look forward going into the conference tournament.”
The Orange Panthers will take on Northern Guilford High School in the first round of the state playoffs here at home, so don’t miss it.
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