CPHS Boys fall 82-61 to No. 5 Norman North, will face Sapulpa in Area Playoffs Friday

CPHS junior Colt Savage posted 28 points in the Regional Championship game at Norman North. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

NNHS 82 CPHS 61

1Q Norman North 21-19
2Q Norman North 24-14
3Q Norman North 25-16
4Q All 12-12

Scoring: (CPHS) Colt Savage 28, Keener 14, Cale Savage 6, Golightly 4, Durkee 3, Taber 2, Garbey 2, Price 2. (NNHS) Young 47, Stoops 16, Kolar 8, Nelson 4, Crutchfield 3, Klein 2, Smith 2. 

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School boys basketball team (12-13) made a big statement Friday night when they defeated the No. 9 ranked Yukon Millers (15-8) in the first round of the Regional playoffs, but they were unable to repeat in the Saturday Championship round against No. 5 Norman North (19-4).

The host team was led by University of Oklahoma-signed senior Trae Young, who was the highest-recruited player in the country before committing to the Sooners. Young was unstoppable from anywhere on the court, draining nine three-pointers with a total of 47 points. 

The Sandites had their own all-star in Colt Savage, who posted 28 points for his fourth-highest score of the season. The 6'3" junior son of Head Coach Eric Savage has led the Frontier Valley Conference in scoring all season long with an average of 22.5 points-per-game.

Sand Springs hung tight with the Timberwolves through the first quarter and only trailed by two at the buzzer. The elder Savage scored eight in the stanza, aided by University of Central Oklahoma-signed senior Kyle Keener with six, sophomore Cale Savage with three, and Matt Price with two.

The top-seeded team began to pull away in the second period, however, as Young played his best quarter of the game with eighteen points. Peyton Golightly posted all four of his points in the second quarter, Colt Savage scored five, Cale Savage scored three, and Jacob Garbey hit his lone basket of the game. 

Norman North retired to the locker room with a 45-33 advantage. 

Colt Savage did the bulk of his damage in the third period, scoring eleven of the team's sixteen points, but Young had thirteen for the Timberwolves and Drake Stoops posted eight more as the home team led 70-49. The 21-point advantage was insurmountable for the Sandites and both teams scored 12 in the final stretch for a final score of 82-61. 

Despite falling short of the Regional title, the Sandites will still advance to the Area playoffs through the consolation bracket. They will take on their Highway 97 rivals, No. 12 Sapulpa (16-7) in the first round Friday at 8:00 p.m. at Bixby High School. The winner of that game will face the loser of No. 1 Union (25-0) vs No. 7 Booker T. Washington (18-6) for the ticket to State. The Sandites previously fell 72-68 to Sapulpa in a close game this January.