Injuries and Fouls Add Up to Tough Season-Opening Loss for Sandites

Deke Thompson scored 26 points in his Sandite debut. (Photo by Charity Emigh).

Injuries and fouls derailed a fast start and what could have been a statement win over a west-side team to open the season.

Charles Page High School fell 59-55 to Edmond Memorial after jumping out to a 14-9 first quarter lead and didn’t trail till the last bucket of the half.

Unfortunately for the Sandites, Khalil Allen drew a fourth foul early in the second quarter and spent the rest of the half on the bench. Kason Evans fouled out early in the third quarter, and Blake Johnson suffered a head injury that took him out of the game early in the third as well.

“That hurt,” said head coach Eric Savage. “We were real thin right there and giving a big size advantage once we lost all three of them. And really Khalil, he played the whole second half with four fouls, couldn’t be as aggressive as he normally is.”

“We were just holding on there in the second half,” said Savage. “But I thought they showed a lot of heart, didn’t give up, and gave us a chance there at the end. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”

Kooper Kelly got hot late in the game, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter. The Sandites trailed as much as 47-36 before Kelly sparked a 10-2 run.

“Kooper’s been doing a good job,” said Savage. “He’s a three-year starter so we kind of expect that from him and just kind of encourage him to not wait so late to get get going. I think the tendency is to kind of wait around and wait for other guys to get involved, but we want him to be aggressive and keep shooting the ball.”

Deke Thompson picked up where Kelly left off with 9 points in the final two minutes, including a three-pointer on a steal and assist by Kelly to make it 52-49 with 1:49 to play.

Kelly fouled out with 21 seconds left and Thompson cut it as close as 57-55 nine seconds later, but Danny Lynn hit a pair of free throws in the final moments to put the game away for the Bulldogs.

Thompson, a junior transfer from Jenks, led all scorers with 23 points.

“He’s a great player,” said Savage. “Obviously he’s a scorer and can do a lot of things and it’s going to free up some opportunities for some other guys. Take a little of the pressure off them.”

Kelly had 13 as the only other Sandite in double digits, while the Bulldogs were led by Lynn with 14.

The Sandites have more inside size than they’ve had in recent years and the addition of Thompson to an already-loaded junior class has the Sandites positioned for a resurgent season after a three-year slump of losing seasons.

Last year was already a bounce-back effort after the Sandites doubled their previous year’s win total at 10-14. With the OSSAA’s transition to district play this year, the Sandites should have an easier time returning to their pre-COVID form.

“I think we have a well-rounded team,” said Savage, who enters his 11th year at the helm.

“I think it’s going to take a little bit with the newcomers coming in for us to gel a little bit. We’re still haven’t had a lot of time together and our schedule’s really tough here at the beginning of the year and we’re going to have to go through some battles. But I really like our group and it’s going to be fun. We’ll get through the hurdles and I like where we’re going to be come January.”

Sand Springs will return to action Friday at 8:00 p.m. with a district road game against Owasso (1-0, 1-0) while Edmond Memorial will host Putnam City (1-0, 1-0) on Friday.

EDM 59 CPHS 55

1Q: CPHS 14-9.
2Q: EDM 18-11.
3Q: EDM 15-11.
4Q: CPHS 19-17.

Field Goals: EDM 21-of-39, CPHS 17-of-36.
Free Throws: EDM 14-of-22, CPHS 16-of-20.
Offensive Rebounds: EDM 9, CPHS 1.
Defensive Rebounds: EDM 15, CPHS 10.
Total Rebounds: EDM 24, CPHS 11.
Steals: EDM 6, CPHS 5.
Blocks: EDM 1, CPHS 1.
Fouls: EDM 21, CPHS 21.

Sand Springs Statistics

Points: Thompson 23, Kelly 13, Allen 9, Johnson 6, Roper 3, Evans 1.
Offensive Rebounds: Johnson 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Allen 4, Thompson 3, Fueshko 2, Mitchell 1.
Total Rebounds: Allen 4, Thompson 3, Fueshko 2, Johnson 1, Mitchell 1.
Steals: Kelly 2, Thompson 2, Allen 1.
Assists: Kelly 1, Thompson 1, Allen 1, Johnson 1, Fueshko 1.
Blocks: Allen 1.
Fouls: Kelly 5, Evans 5, Allen 4, Johnson 2, Fueshko 2, Mitchell 2, Roper 1.

Edmond Memorial Statistics

Points: Lyon 14, Pedulla 8, Hancuff 8, Nero 8, Miller 6, Youngblood 5, Franz 4, Brown 3, Lashley 3.
Fouls: Nero 4, Brown 4, Pedulla 3, Franz 3, Youngblood 3, Hancuff 2, Lynn 1, Miller 1.