Game of the Week: Charlotte holds off late Sexton rally on the road

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Following a tough opening season loss, the Charlotte Orioles picked up a nice CAAC White win on the road at Lansing Sexton, 62-59.

Charlotte strung together a 11-0 run early in the fourth quarter and looked ready to comfortably get out of town with a win, but the J-Dubbs found another level, turning up the defensive pressure to cut the game to a 2-point deficit late.

“You know Sexton isn’t going to go away,” Charlotte head coach Tom Fleming said. “I mean, they’re tenacious defensively, especially on the ball. And to get a road win, especially against a team like Sexton, I mean, I’m just really happy for the whole team.”

Fleming got an outstanding effort from his backcourt, with both Braden Hill and Cutler Brandt chipping in for 40 points and filling it up in a variety of ways, attacking the basket relentlessly.

“That’s kinda my motto. That’s kinda how I like to play,” Hill, also a Charlotte running back, said. “When we were on that run, we had a timeout and came together and we knew what we had to do to stay on top. We just executed well.”

The J-Dubbs got a big outing from their do-it-all senior Devon Hodges-Smith, who poured in a team-high 20 points.

Freshman Keyshawn Summerville impressed as well, pouring in 11 points and racking up a handful of steals.

A year ago, the Orioles went 1-9 in conference play, now with a very experienced and old roster, they’ve got their goals set for much more this season.

“Our main goal this year is conference champs,” Hill said. “Big goal for us, but we know what we had in front of us and you know, we just worked our worked our butts to stay in reach of that goal.”

Now at 1-1, Charlotte will entertain Vicksburg on Saturday, Dec. 10.

Sexton falls to 0-2 and will travel to Jackson on Dec. 13.

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