In the second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s 3A East playoffs, number 7 seed Northern Nash dominated number 10 seed Orange with a powerful and dynamic display of athleticism, particularly from Campbell football recruit Randall King. King, who scored 28 points, played a key role in the Knights’ 68-60 victory.

The Knights had to endure the strong skills of Cole Cloer, a highly rated prospect who stands at 6-foot-7 and is in his second year of college.

Cloer had the most points of the game with a total of 30, with 17 of those points scored in the fourth quarter when the Panthers were down by 11 points.

Despite scoring 30 points, Cloer faced strong defense from the Knights. Senior Trey Battle performed well on defense, as did King and other players who contributed by aggressively guarding Cloer.

In the first quarter, Battle was responsible for nine of the Knights’ 16 points, giving Northern an early lead in the game.

Orange had a 7-6 advantage over Northern during the second quarter, which had very few points scored.

At halftime, the Panthers and Knights were both at 24 points.

After the first 1:34 of the second half, Northern Nash went on a 9-0 run. With 6:26 remaining in the third quarter, Orange called for a timeout.

The Knights caused numerous turnovers from Orange and successfully capitalized on each one to generate points on their own end, allowing for their successful run.

Xandrell Pennix from Orange was able to score two free throws and stop the run with six minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Following a successful free throw from the King of Northern Nash, both sides exchanged rapid shots until Orange’s Pennix connected with a lob pass to Cole Cloer.

After Cloer’s successful trip to the line, Northern Nash’s 6-foot-8 freshman CJ Rossler scored a corner 3-pointer when Orange switched to a zone defense. This increased the Knights’ lead to 41-30 with 2:42 remaining in the third quarter. Northern Nash then called a timeout to strategize for the next time they faced the zone defense.

A few moments later, Randall King grabbed a rebound and successfully scored, earning a chance for an additional point. The successful free throw gave Northern a 49-36 lead with 5.7 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

As the third quarter was coming to a close, Cloer displayed a determined attitude as he drove towards the basket and was ultimately fouled with only one second remaining. He successfully made both of his shots. This helped Northern to secure a 49-38 advantage heading into the final quarter.

A block by Northern Nash’s 6-foot-10 sophomore Chris Silver and transition layup by King made it 52-40 with six and a half minutes to go.

At the 5:33 mark in the second half, Pennix made a three-point shot in response to a lay-up by Randall King. The score was then 54-43. Orange team called a timeout and implemented a full-court press strategy.

The momentum from Orange’s press disrupted Northern Nash’s play, causing the Knights to make several turnovers.

Following a turnover, Orange quickly advanced the ball and ended up with Cloer scoring a 3-point play on a put-back. This increased Northern’s lead to 54-46. Unfortunately, the foul was the fifth for Silver and he had to leave the game.

Subsequently, Cloer’s impressive crossover and successful pull-up jumper from midrange brought the score to 54-50 with slightly more than four minutes remaining.

At 3:55 remaining in the game, Northern Nash called a timeout in order to settle down their offense.

After the break, Jamiere Harris of Northern Nash successfully made a difficult shot. However, on Orange’s following possession, the Panthers accidentally lost control of the ball. In response, Northern Nash countered with a mistake of their own.

Knight senior Izeal Mallory II and Cloer traded twos. After a Northern miss, the nights forced a turnover on Cloer in the corner. Orange called a timeout to calm down. It was a 58-52 game with 2:46 left.

Following the timeout, the Panthers quickly responded with consecutive fast break dunks from Cloer and fellow sophomore Mason Robinson. On the offensive end, Northern Nash’s rash decision-making led to opportunities for those dunks.

Northern used a timeout while on offense, leading 58-56, with 1:35 remaining.

After the allotted time period ended, King made a consistent push towards the hoop and was contacted by an opposing player. He successfully made both of his free throw attempts, bringing his team’s advantage to 60-56.

Cloer failed to make a three-pointer from the corner while being guarded by King. On the following possession, King scored a layup.

During Orange’s upcoming journey, Cloer lost control of the ball while dribbling and it was swiftly passed to King for an impressive lay-up.

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With a deficit of eight points, Orange decided to take a break by calling a timeout. The score was 64-56, with 56.4 seconds remaining.

After the timeout, Cloer tried a challenging turnaround jump shot and was fouled.

He successfully scored on a free throw, bringing the score to 64-57 with 44.4 seconds remaining.

Orange had to make Harris take the shot in order to prevent an effortless layup after Northern got past the defense. Harris successfully made both shots.

Afterwards, Rossler committed a foul on Cloer, resulting in the freshman’s early exit from the game with five fouls.

Despite making one of his two free throw attempts and successfully scoring a layup in the final seconds of the game, Cloer’s efforts were not sufficient to close the gap against Northern’s lead.

Source: highschoolot.com