Sandite Boys Fall 71-50 at Union, Will Host Owasso Friday

Coming off a close 76-72 loss in the Union tournament semifinals, all eyes were on Sand Springs in Tuesday’s district rematch. Unfortunately for the black and gold faithful, there was no upset to be had.

No. 14 Charles Page High School (10-5, 2-4) hung close till halfway through the fourth quarter before No. 4 Union (14-2, 6-1) finally pulled away with a final score of 71-51.

“Their physicality wore us down; that was the main thing,” said head coach Eric Savage. “We didn’t do a good job of adjusting.”

The Sandites led by as much as 14-10 in the first quarter before Union closed it on a 5-0 run for the lead. Zane Fueshko hit a three-pointer to open the second quarter, but that would be the last lead of the game for Sand Springs.

By halftime the RedHawks were on top 29-24, a double-digit difference from Friday’s 41-39 first-half shootout.

“Both teams shot the ball really well last week and both teams made adjustments for this game,” said Savage. “It was a more slow-paced game with a little more defense involved, at least through the first three quarters. Defensive game plan for both teams. They wore us down and we didn’t adjust to their physicality.”

The third quarter started back and forth with the visitors only trailing 40-35 after a three-point play from Deke Thompson.

Khalil Allen drew his fourth foul with 1:58 left in the third and Alijah Roper took a tumble into the bleachers that shook him up, though he returned to the game not long after.

The home team closed on a 9-2 run and took that momentum with a double-digit lead into the fourth.

Sand Springs mostly hung with the RedHawks and cut it as close as 55-46 after back-to-back buckets from Kason Evans and Allen, but Union rallied with a 14-1 run from there to put the game out of reach before Fueshko hit a three to break up the run.

Evans led the Sandites with 13 points and 6 rebounds, but was the only Sandite in double digits.

Union was led by Miles Flemons, a 6’8 division I recruit, with 18 points, followed by Dalen Fuller with 12 points and Justin Chappelle with 11.

The Sandites were at a distinct size disadvantage in the game with the average Union starter having more than four inches on the average Sandite starter.

“We’re making progress,” said Savage, whose team has gone 10-2 since an 0-3 start to the season.

“You go on the road and it’s hard to win. You’ve got a top-five team for the second time. We’ll see them again at our place and see if we can change the results. We’re going to keep fighting but we didn’t have our best tonight and again, they wore us down. They’re tough to guard inside.”

Sand Springs’ schedule wont get any easier as it hosts No. 2 Owasso (14-2, 7-0) Friday at 8:00 p.m. in a rematch of a 67-48 loss from December. The Rams are ranked 80th in the nation by MaxPreps.

“Number two team in the state coming in,” said Savage. “One or two, depending on who you ask. And definitely one of the top players in the state. We’ve just got to regroup after this, try to get our legs back, and hopefully being in the confines of the Ed Dubie will give us some energy playing in front of our fans. Should be a fun game.”

Union 71 CPHS 51

1Q: Union 15-14.
2Q: Union 14-10.
3Q: Union 20-13.
4Q: Union 22-14.
Free Throws: Union 14-of-24, CPHS 10-of-14.
Field Goals: Union 27-of-50, CPHS 18-of-41.
Offensive Rebounds: Union 6, CPHS 5.
Defensive Rebounds: Union 16, CPHS 13.
Total Rebounds: Union 22, CPHS 18.
Steals: Union 13, CPHS 4.
Blocks: Union 3, CPHS 1.
Fouls: Union 16, CPHS 24.

Sand Springs Stats

Scoring: Evans 13, Kelly 9, Johnson 8, Thompson 7, Allen 7, Fueshko 6, Shope 1.
Offensive Rebounds: Johnson 3, Thompson 1, Evans 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Evans 5, Kelly 2, Allen 2, Thompson 1, Johnson 1, Fueshko 1, Smith 1.
Total Rebounds: Evans 6, Johnson 4, Kelly 2, Thompson 2, Allen 2, Fueshko 1, Smith 1.
Steals: Kelly 2, Johnson 1, Evans 1.
Assists: Roper 3, Johnson 2, Allen 1.
Blocks: Allen 1.
Fouls: Allen 5, Thompson 3, Johnson 3, Evans 3, Young 3, Kelly 2, Fueshko 2, Roper 1, Mitchell 1, Shope 1.

Union Stats

Scoring: Flemons 18, Fuller 12, Chappelle 11, Gunn 9, Gilyard 6, Malham 5, Chaney-Jones 5, Madrid 4, Ugbah 1.
Fouls: Gunn 3, Madrid 3, Chappelle 3, Fuller 2, Flemons 2, Malham 2, Chaney-Jones 1.