Colt Savage scores 21 in 45-42 nail-bitter loss to Bishop Kelley

1Q Sand Springs 12-7
2Q Sand Springs 11-10
3Q Bishop Kelley 19-10
4Q 9-all

Scoring: (Sand Springs) Colt Savage 21, Keener 10, Garbey 6, Cale Savage 5. (Bishop K) Gendron 15, Jeffries 10, Woodruff 5, Edmonds 4, Coffman 3, Garrett 3, Roy 3, Alonso 2.

Penalties: Kelley 16, CPHS 14
Turnovers: CPHS 11, Kelley 6
Free Throws: CPHS 14 of 19, Kelley 8 of 11.

(Sand Springs Only)
Offensive Rebounds: Keener 3, Golightly 2.
Defensive Rebounds: Colt Savage 6, Keener 4, Garbey 1, Durkee 1, Wash 1, Golightly 1.
Assists: Colt Savage 2, Taber 1, Durkee 1.
Steals: Taber 3, Keener 2, Durkee 1.
Blocks: Keener 1, Colt Savage 1.
Fouls: Garbey 5, Taber 3, Durkee 2, Keener 1, Colt Savage 1, Cale Savage 1, Bogans 1.

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity basketball team (0-2 overall, 0-2 conference) is still looking for a win after a trip to Bishop Kelley (1-1, 1-1) came up short. The Sandites led their Frontier Valley Conference foes 23-17 going into halftime, but the Comets outscored the Sandites 19-10 in the third quarter and the visitors were unable to recover.

The Sandites lost their first game of the season 53-39 last week to unranked Bartlesville (2-1), who quickly jumped up No. 11 this week. Kelley, who is unranked in 5A, will also likely make the top-twenty next week after their defeat of the Sandites and a close 44-41 loss to No. 10 Broken Arrow (2-0) last week. 

The Sandites won the first quarter 12-7, starting off with a pair of free throws by 6'1" sophomore Cale Savage. University of Central Oklahoma signed senior Kyle Keener added another pair from the charity stripe, then Savage hit a three to make it 7-4. The Sandites would hold their lead till the last shot of the third quarter. Senior Jacob Garbey closed out the period with a buzzer-beater three.

The second period was even closer as 6'4" senior Jacob Jeffries went to work, scoring the first two goals of the quarter to cut the deficit to 12-11. 6'5" junior Colt Savage hit his second basket of the night, followed by a two from 6'4" junior Ryan Gendron, then a three from Garbey. The elder Savage closed out the half with a two-pointer and four free throws to maintain the 23-17 advantage.

The Sandites continued to run the game throughout the third quarter, owning a 33-27 advantage late in the period until the Comets went on a nine-point run, capped by a three from Alex Woodruff. 

Keener scored the first two baskets of the fourth period to tie things up at 36-36, then hit another to take the 38-37 lead. Joe Edmonds scored a pair from the charity stripe and Gendron sank a  three to make it a two-score game. Colt Savage stepped up with back-to-back baskets to tie it at 42-42 with 55 seconds remaining, but fouled Gendron and sent him to the line.

Gendron made his first shot, missed the second, rebounded it, and was fouled by Garbey and went right back to the line. In an instant replay of the previous play, he once again made the first and missed the second, rebounded his own shot, and was once again fouled by Garbey. The foul was Garbey's fifth and this time Gendron sank both shots to make it 42-45. With seconds to play, Colt Savage took a pair of three-point shots. The first was blocked back to him, and the second sailed wide as the clock expired and the Comets picked up their first win under first-year head coach Jeff Renegar. 

Colt Savage led the Sandites in scoring for the second-straight game with 21 points and is averaging more than 20 points per game this season. Gendron led the Comets for the second-straight game. He scored 15 against the Sandites and is averaging 18 points per game. 

Sand Springs will return to action next Tuesday when they host No. 10 Broken Arrow (2-0) in their home opener. Bishop Kelley will be hosting a tournament this weekend and will start play Thursday at 9:00 p.m. against 5A No. 15 Shawnee (1-1), and will play Friday at 11:30 a.m. or 8:30 p.m. depending on if they win or lose their first game.