Basketball Game Preview: Eastern Alamance Eagles vs. Orange Panthers

The Eastern Alamance Eagles will head out to face off against the Orange Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Eastern Alamance knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 15 games -- so hopefully Orange likes a good challenge.

On Tuesday, Eastern Alamance got the win against Southern Alamance by a conclusive 75-53. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 172nd, while the Patriots are ranked 511th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Orange over Southern Alamance in every quarter on their way to victory on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Orange blew Southern Alamance out of the water with an 85-47 final score. The Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine matchups by 22 points or more this season.

Orange's win came from a few key players Eastern Alamance will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jalen Crayton, who dropped a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. He is also on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last nine games he's played. Another player making a difference was Kai Wade, who posted 19 points in addition to eight boards and four steals.

Orange smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 17 consecutive contests.

Orange has been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.5 points over those games. As for Eastern Alamance, their victory bumped their record up to 14-8.

Eastern Alamance didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Orange when the teams last played back in December of 2024, but they still walked away with a 66-60 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Eastern Alamance since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.