Senior Keegan Crabtree taking it to the rack.Photo Credit: Will Okun[/caption]
The Orange High School men’s basketball squad beat South Brunswick by a final score of 75-51 on Monday, advancing to the second round of the 3A State Playoffs. The Cougars of Brunswick kept it close early in the game, relying on their big men to take advantage of Orange’s relatively small lineup; however, with the score tied 27-27, the Panthers scored 12 straight points to cap off an explosive half. With the lead at 12 going into the second half, it proved to be insurmountable for Brunswick. The Panthers essentially ran away with the game in the second half, forcing several turnovers and scoring lots of transition baskets.
Orange was led by senior Keegan Crabtree and sophomore Eryk Brandon-Dean, who scored 21 and 16 points, respectively.
Orange’s second round game will be tomorrow, February 26, at 7:00 pm against 16-seeded, in-conference foe Chapel Hill.
Photo Credit: Will Okun. Junior Jawan Chambers runs the ball across half court during the Panthers 62 to 59 victory over Cedar Ridge.[/caption]The 2013-14 season has been one of the best for both the Junior Varsity and Varsity men's basketball teams at Orange High School in recent memory. Both teams were able to win the regular season Big Eight conference championship, finishing with records of 20-1 and 20-4 respectively.
The JV team secured a near perfect season against cross-town rival Cedar Ridge on Monday, February 17, with a 77 to 33 win. The Panthers were lead by freshman Connor Crabtree who had 19 points, while Alex Long also added 14 points off the bench. The Junior Varsity’s only loss of the season came on the road against Southern Durham.
The Varsity men's team also locked up the conference championship against the Red Wolves, winning a nail bitter by a score of 62 to 59. Leading the Panthers was senior forward JD Brooks who finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, with 5 of them being offensive. Also contributing to the win were senior forward Keegan Crabtree and junior guard Jawan Chambers who added 10 and 12 points respectively.
While the JV team’s season has concluded, the Varsity men play on into the conference tournament as the number one seed.