The Orange High School gym was packed to the brim last night.

The Bison boys basketball team, ranked #8 in the latest Cleveland.com Top 25, had made the short trip over to Pepper Pike to take on the Lions.

When the Lions visited BHS back in November’s season opener, the Bison cruised to a 20-point win, although they took their foot off of the gas in the second half.

Tuesday night gave Beachwood fans a sense of deja vu. As always, there was a ton of excitement for the rivalry game.

While the Orange student section was in a “white out”, the loud Bison student section came dressed in sports jerseys, ranging from basketball and baseball to football and soccer.

Just like in the season opener, the Bison raced out to a big lead in the opening minutes of the game, which quieted the Orange crowd and energized the Beachwood side.

Within the first 2 minutes, Beachwood senior Ronald Jones, who is committed to Malone University for football, hit 3 three-pointers, and after the third, gestured with 3 fingers towards his jersey-wearing peers, sending them into a frenzy.

Both crowds were also energized when Beachwood senior Jonathan Nash ripped the ball out of Orange senior Henry Mays’ hands, leading Mays to push Nash in a little scuffle, and the referees had to separate the players.

The first quarter included many steals, blocks and offensive rebounds for the Bison. On the offensive side, player movement without the ball set up easy looks for Beachwood.

An impressive team effort in the first quarter gave the Bison a 27-10 lead heading into the second.

The 2nd quarter was a bit sloppy, but, it included a thunderous dunk by Bison senior forward Maishe Dailey, who is committed to Rutgers University.

When the halftime buzzer sounded, the Bison lead 40-24. Just as during intermission of the first game, many fans thought the Bison would run away with this one, and some in the student section were talking about leaving if the lead got above 30.

In the opening minutes of the second half, these predictions looked right. The Bison opened with an 8-0 run and led by over 20 for a couple minutes, which calmed the atmosphere.

However, the Lions would not give up, and good defense helped chip the lead back to what it was at halftime.

The score at the end of the 3rd was 54-38, Bison.

Although Mays did not do much statistically, he was still talking trash and trying to get into his opponents’ heads long after his scuffle with Nash.

As he was guarding hard-nosed Beachwood senior Desmond Crosby, he continued to talk and clap in his face.

But Crosby let his game do the talking, as he crossed Mays over multiple times and helped the Bison keep pace with the Orange run.

Meanwhile, Dailey sat out with a minor leg injury he had sustained in the first half.

Before fans even realized, Orange was creeping back into the game with just minutes left, and they cut the lead to 10 with about 2 minutes left.

Lackadaisical play by the Bison allowed Orange to continue their run, revving up both student sections one last time.

Down by just five with around a minute to go, an Orange player drove down the lane and went for a layup that would cut the lead to just a single possession, but Chris Bell, who played for Orange during his sophomore year, chased after the play and swatted the ball away, giving the Bison a huge break.

Clutch free throw shooting and a strong defensive possession helped the Bison seal the game, bringing the final score to 73-70, much closer than the Bison had expected.

On Friday, the boys face a much tougher challenge, as they take on the Division I Garfield Heights Bulldogs, who are seen as a state contender by many.

But when it comes down to it, a win is a win, and one over an arch-rival is even better, so as they headed out into a Cleveland blizzard, Bison supporters were glad to have swept the Lions and to see their team win against Orange for the 5th straight time on the court.