Sandite boys fall to Bartlesville despite 20-point performance by Colt Savage (with stats)

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Scoring: (Sand Springs) Colt Savage 20, Keener 12, Cale Savage 7. (Bartlesville) Gronigan 21, Archambo 12, Tanner 11, Dina 6, Colbert 3.

(Sand Springs Only)
Offensive Rebounds: Keener 2, Golightly 2, Garbey 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Colt Savage 6, Cale Savage 3, Keener 2, Durkee 2, Golightly 1.
Steals: Keener 2, Colt Savage 2, Garbey 1, Cale Savage 1.
Assists: Cale Savage 2, Taber 1, Garbey 1, Golightly 1.
Blocks: Keener 1.
Fouls: Keener 5, Garbey 3, Taber 2, Cale Savage 2, Colt Savage 1, Durkee 1, Golightly 1.

The No. 14 ranked Charles Page High School boys basketball team (0-1 overall, 0-1 conference) hit a speed bump to start the season, falling 53-39 Tuesday night at unranked Bartlesville (1-0). The young team returns only two starters from last year's successful 14-10 team and started two sophomores, but showed strong bones to build on over the course of the season.

The leader for the Sandites was 6'5" junior Colt Savage with 20 points, followed by 6'6" senior Oklahoma Baptist-commit Kyle Keener with 12. Keener was three-for-six on field goals and six-for-six on free throws. Savage was six-of-ten on two-pointers, two-for-seven on threes, and two-for-two at the charity stripe. 

Sand Springs led at the end of the first and second periods, and only trailed by six going into the final period when desperation fouls gave the home team their double-digit finish. 

The game started fairly back-and-forth with Savage scoring nine in the first period, complemented by a pair of layups by Keener. Oral Roberts baseball commit A.J. Archambo hit a pair of baskets for five to start the second quarter with a 16-13 Bartlesville lead, but the Sandites went on a five-score run to close the half. Savage hit a two, followed by a pair Keener. Cale Savage, the sophomore brother of the leading scorer, hit his first three of the season and Keener closed it out with a 28-21 halftime lead. 

The younger Savage impressed throughout the game with a trio of rebounds, a steal, and two assists. The son of Head Coach Eric Savage saw limited play as a freshman, scoring 20 points over the course of the season. He finished with seven points in his first game as a starter and was just a basket shy of matching his career-high 9 points from his varsity debut. 

The Sandites were plagued by turnovers in the second half and scored only three points in the third quarter while giving up sixteen for a six-point deficit. In the fourth quarter they were outscored sixteen to eight after giving up seven-straight points in desperation free throws. The Sandites committed fifteen fouls compared to the Bruins' nine and Keener fouled out near the end, severely limiting their rebound potential. 

Senior Jacob Garbey and sophomore Cole Durkee both saw their first varsity starts and sophomore Peyton Golightly made his varsity debut. Senior Josh Taber saw limited play time while Mack Thompson and Caleb Wash didn't play at all. All three were members of the State Semi-Finalist Football team that just wrapped up the season a few weeks ago. 

The Sandites will return to action next Tuesday when they take on 5A unranked Bishop Kelley (0-0) on the road. 

SEE RELATED: Week 2 Men's Basketball Rankings and Predictions
SEE RELATED: Pennington scores 21 in season opening win at Bartlesville