CPHS Boys' Basketball Preview: No. 12 Sandites host Ponca City Tuesday

/

Colt Savage goes for a big jump shot in a game against Wichita. (Photo: Morgan Miller).

The Charles Page High School varsity basketball season will kick off this Tuesday at the Ed Dubie Field House as the Sandites host the Ponca City Wildcats in a non-conference matchup.

The varsity boys enter the season with the No. 12 ranking in Class 6A. The Sandites went 12-14 last season and finished seventh in the Frontier Valley Conference. They upset No. 9 Yukon 66-59 in the Regional playoffs but fell 85-73 to No. 12 Sapulpa in the Area Tournament.

Unranked Ponca City is the lone school in 6A without a conference. They went 3-18 and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs after a 79-23 beatdown by No. 1 Union. 

The Sandites lost a quarter of their scoring power in University of Central Oklahoma freshman Kyle Keener who averaged 16.6 points-per-game. They return the top-scoring player in the entire conference in senior Colt Savage who averaged 22.6. 

Sand Springs is currently in a bright spot for the program, going 38-36 over the past three seasons and 46-54 under fifth-year head coach Eric Savage. The Sandites went 3-40 in conference play, finishing dead last for three-straight years before Savage moved up from the 5A circuit. During his time at Tulsa Memorial he led the Chargers to three State Championships, and in 2015-2016 he led the Sandites to their first winning record since 2000. 

Colt and Cale Savage, Matthew Price, Cole Durkee, and Davon Richardson are expected to start the game against Ponca City.

  • Colt started 25 games last season and led his team in scoring on nineteen occasions with a personal-best 34 points against Bixby.
  • Cale started 24 games and tied his personal best of eleven points on three separate occasions.
  • Price was a mid-season transfer, starting once and seeing action in fourteen games. He scored a season-best nine points against Bishop Kelley.
  • Durkee started fifteen games and scored a season-best eight points against Broken Arrow. 
  • Richardson transferred from Tulsa Central where he was a 4A State Tournament Semifinalist. He made headlines last December when he came off the bench in the second half to score twenty points and upset 5A No. 4 East Central. 

"We have five players on the floor who are very well rounded, that can all handle and shoot" says Coach Savage. "We will need to develop some depth as the year progresses. Only two seniors on the team and two returning starters, we are a young team." 

Colt Savage, who has received offers from the University of Central Oklahoma, Rogers State University, Cameron University, Oklahoma Baptist University, and Missouri Western State University, will be looked to for leadership as the team's only four-year starter and most experienced player. 

"Several young guys will be counted on to be difference makers," says Coach Savage. "Sophomores Davon Richardson and Josh Minney, freshmen Marlo Fox, Kendrick Williams, and Cason Savage could see significant minutes." 

The Sandites' first in-conference opponent will be 5A No. 9 Bishop Kelley this Friday at home. They will play the first installment of the Highway 97 Rivalry Series against No. 18 Sapulpa next Tuesday.

2017-2018 Week 1 Boys Rankings

  1. Putnam City North (12)
  2. Broken Arrow (3)
  3. Edmond Santa Fe (1)
  4. Midwest City
  5. Westmoore
  6. Union (1)
  7. Edmond North (2)
  8. Putnam City West (1)
  9. Norman
  10. Norman North
  11. Edmond Memorial
  12. Sand Springs
  13. Stillwater (1)
  14. Muskogee
  15. Owasso
  16. Putnam City
  17. Shawnee
  18. Sapulpa
  19. Deer Creek 
  20. Mustang

()*First Place Votes

Boys 2016-2017 FVC Standings
1. Union (14-0)
2. Broken Arrow (11-3)
3. Sapulpa (9-4)
4. Muskogee (9-5)
5. Owasso (7-7)
6. Bixby (6-8)
7. Sand Springs (5-9)
8. Bartlesville (4-9)
9. Bishop Kelley (3-11)
10. Jenks (1-13)