No. 1 Union fends off late rally by No. 20 Sand Springs, Colt Savage scores 20

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 20 ranked Charles Page High School boys basketball team (7-9 overall, 1-6 conference) hosted No. 1 Union (16-0, 7-0) Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field-House and gave the undefeated Redskins a run for their money.

Union 75 CPHS 63

1Q Union 22-10
2Q Union 16-12
3Q CPHS 20-12
4Q Union 25-21

Scoring: (Sand Springs) Colt Savage 20, Keener 18, Cale Savage 11, Garbey 10, Taber 4. (Union) Chargois 22, Rodriguez 17, Jamerson 14, Garcia 12, McQuarters 4, Flood 4, Johnson 2. 

(Sand Springs only)
Offensive Rebounds: Keener 8, Garbey 1, Colt Savage 1, Taber 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Colt Savage 1, Wash 3, Taber 1, Keener 1, Durkee 1, Golightly 1, Price 1. 
Steals: Taber 2, Keener 1.
Assists: Colt Savage 3, Taber 2, Garbey 1.
Blocks: Keener 3.
Fouls: Taber 4, Garbey 3, Colt Savage 2, Cale Savage 2, Price 2, Golightly 1, Keener 1.

The Sandites never led, but hung right behind their foes for half of the first quarter. Jacob Garbey and Kyle Keener posted the first points of the game for Sand Springs. Union led 11-5 after a pair of free throws from Mo Garcia and a field goal from McQuarters, but Colt Savage went three-for-three from the charity stripe to pull it back in close.

Then Union lit it up. Adrian Rodriguez scored eight points in the final minutes and Ethan Chargois got in on the action with a field goal. Keener hit a layup to end the period, but the Sandites trailed 22-10.

Keener started off the second quarter with another layup, but Union went right back to work with three baskets from Flood and a two from Jamerson. Sophomore Cale Savage cut into the lead with a pair of threes, but the Redskins furthered the divide to 38-22 by half time.

Chargois came out of the break pumped and hit back-to-back layups, but then Sand Springs decided to play one of their best quarters of the season. Colt Savage sank a three, Keener hit a layup and a pair of free throws, then Savage added yet another three to cut it to 42-32. Chargois got on the board once again after a Union timeout, but then Sand Springs went right back to work with goals from Keener, Colt Savage, and Josh Taber to make it 44-38. Rodriguez sank a two-pointer and a bonus shot, but Keener got the last goal of the quarter and entered the fourth period 50-42. 

The Sandites outscored the Redskins 20-13 on field goals in the fourth quarter, but the Redskins made the most of their free throw opportunities and scored 12 points from the charity stripe to retain their lead. Overall, Union was 21-of-28 on free throws for the evening, which may very well be what won them the game.

Chargois led all scorers with 22 points, followed closely by Colt Savage with 20, Keener with 18, and Rodriguez with 17. 

The Redskins will travel to No. 13 Sapulpa (9-3) Friday, while the Sandites will travel to No. 16 Owasso (10-6). Owasso prevailed over the Sandites 58-56 this past weekend at the Coffeyville Interstate Classic.