Two dominant guards in Kai Wade and Jordan Jacobson are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Orange Panthers will face off against the Cedar Ridge Fighting Red Wolves at 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Orange will be strutting in after a victory while Cedar Ridge will be coming in after a defeat.
Last Friday, Orange was able to grind out a solid win over Williams, taking the game 60-50. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 125th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 276th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Cedar Ridge was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their sixth straight loss. They were two points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 51-49 heartbreaker at the hands of Southern Alamance. The match was a 27-27 toss-up at halftime, but the Fighting Red Wolves couldn't quite close it out.
Orange will need focus on slowing down Jacobson, one of several Cedar Ridge players who made an impact when they last played. He went 6 for 13 on his way to 17 points. Jack Kelsey was another key player, putting up three points along with 11 boards and four blocks.
Orange's victory bumped their record up to 10-4. As for Cedar Ridge, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 5-8.
Everything went Orange's way against Cedar Ridge in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, as Orange made off with a 68-42 win. Will Orange repeat their success, or does Cedar Ridge have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
