No.14 Sandites headed to Regionals riding losing streak
/Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief
The No.14 Charles Page Sandites (14-9) are going into Regionals on a four-loss streak after giving up a 57-49 loss to the No.18 Jenks Trojans in their regular-season finale Friday night at Ed Dubie Field House.
Things started well for Sand Springs it looked like they were going to dish up some payback for a mid-January upset at Jenks.
The Sandites started 5-0 and worked their lead up to 14-4 at one point before allowing a 7-point streak to narrow the game to 16-11 at the close of the first.
The Trojans came into the second period firing with back-to-back-to-back threes by Isaiah Epps and Terrell Marshall to take their first lead of the game 19-16. Sandite sophomore Brooks Haddock interrupted with a layup, but then it was Jenks with five more for a 24-20 advantage. The home team would battle back to tie it up at 26-26 for the half.
It was neck-and-neck from there as the third period would see the score tied three different times before Jenks pushed ahead for a 45-40 lead going into the fourth.
At one point it looked like the Sandites might get a bit of a break as Isaac Gilton fouled out and TJ Washington was sitting at four personal fouls of his own. But instead it was Kyle Keener who was sent to the bench and both teams still had four starters left.
Jenks did have an adult fan ejected from the game, but that didn't help the boys on the court any as a series of desperation fouls proved fruitless as Jenks rebounded any errant free throws and ran down the clock while holding on to a 57-49 lead for the win.
Colt Savage led the scoring for the Sandites with 16, while Isaiah Epps had the game high at 17.
The boys will return to action next Friday night at 6:30 p.m. against Broken Arrow at Putnam City North High School in the first round of Regionals. The Sandites already hold a 73-56 win over the Tigers from January, and if they can repeat that victory and snap their losing streak, they'll still advance to the Area Tournament, regardless of if they win the Regional Championship. If Sand Springs can defeated Broken Arrow again, they'll take on the victor of No.8 Putnam City North vs Bartlesville.
