Boys Basketball: Sandites get first conference win, 62-46 against Sapulpa

In a battle for last place in the Frontier Valley Conference, Sand Springs finally got a much-needed 62-46 win against Sapulpa, Friday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

The 6A-East No. 14 Sandites (5-10 overall, 1-6 conference) out-shot and out-rebounded 5A-East No. 14 Sapulpa (4-12, 0-7) to win their third-straight Highway 97 Rivalry meeting.

“It feels good,” said Sand Springs head coach Eric Savage. “We’ve been close several times this year and we just haven’t been able to finish.”

“Sapulpa’s kind of having a year similar to ours, and we knew this was going to be two teams that were really hungry for a win. I thought from the tip we came out focused and executed, and really controlled the game.”

The Sandites took a 6-0 lead out of the gate and never trailed, though the score stayed close till midway through the fourth quarter.

“We had a few lapses in there and Sapulpa kept coming at us, but overall I thought they followed the game plan and we were able to keep them at bay,” said Savage.

Sand Springs took a 31-23 lead into the half and a 44-32 lead into the fourth quarter, with its biggest advantage being a 16-point lead early in the final stanza.

The visiting Chieftains then mounted a comeback attempt, scoring ten in a row, kicked off by a Gavin Read layup through contact. Read missed his and-one opportunity, but Kylen Edwards made the putback and drew a foul of his own, sinking the free throw.

Charles Hobbs scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to 48-42, but it was all Sand Springs from there. 

“We just had to keep attacking,” said Savage. “A couple of times we got slow and quit running. I tried to tell them, ‘we’re playing to win, we’re not playing not to lose.’ I thought we got a little tentative there with what to do with the ball.”

Edwards led all scorers with 20 points, but Jaymason Lindsey was the only other Chieftain in double digits with 12 points.

Jason Clark and JD Dickson led the Sandites with 12 points apiece, followed by Kooper Kelly with 10. Ethan Oakley, Cale Askew, and Costen Brockman added 8 points apiece, and Oakley had 15 rebounds.

“We’re making improvements,” said Savage. “It’s hard to see in our conference sometimes because of how top-heavy and good it is, but we’re making improvements, we’re shooting the ball better, we’re passing the ball better. We struggled early in the year when people would press us, and we’re doing a much better job of that.”

The Sandites will embark on another tough week on the road with a Tuesday game at No. 5 Union (8-8, 4-4) and a Friday battle at No. 6 Owasso (11-6, 6-2).

Sapulpa will host Bixby (6-10, 1-6) on Tuesday and Union on Friday. 

In junior varsity action the Sandites won 65-40 behind 17 points from Alijah Roper and 11 from Kade Holland.

CPHS 62 Sapulpa 46
1Q: CPHS 19-9.
2Q: Sapulpa 14-12.
3Q: CPHS 13-9.
4Q: CPHS 18-14.
Free Throws: CPHS 10-of-14, Sapulpa 10-of-14.
Field Goals: CPHS 22-of-39, Sapulpa 15-of-49.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 6, Sapulpa 5.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 27, Sapulpa 12.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 33, Sapulpa 17.
Steals: CPHS 8, Sapulpa 11.
Blocks: CPHS 2, Sapulpa 0.
Fouls: CPHS 17, Sapulpa 13.

Sand Springs (Unofficial) Stats

Scoring: Clark 12, Dickson 12, Kelly 10, Askew 8, Oakley 8, Brockman 8, Roper 4.
Offensive Rebounds: Askew 2, Clark 1, Kelly 1, Oakley 1, Roper 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Oakley 14, Kelly 4, Dickson 3, Brockman 3, Clark 2, Askew 1.
Total Rebounds: Oakley 15, Kelly 5, Clark 3, Askew 3, Dickson 3, Brockman 3, Roper 1.
Steals: Clark 4, Roper 2, Askew 1, Kelly 1.
Assists: Oakley 3, Kelly 2, Clark 1, Askew 1, Brockman 1.
Blocks: Kelly 1, Dickson 1.
Fouls: Oakley 4, Brockman 4, Askew 3, Kelly 3, Dickson 2, Roper 1.

Sapulpa Stats

Scoring: Edwards 20, Lindsey 12, Read 5, Hobbs 5, Lewis 2, Abbuge 2.
Fouls: Lindsey 3, Hobbs 3, Edwards 2, Abbuge 2, Willoby 1, Read 1, Lewis 1.

Jason Clark and Ethan Oakley lead Sandites to come-from-behind 68-55 win over NOAH

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Ethan Oakley wasn’t planning on playing basketball his senior year, but two weeks prior to the season tip-off he asked his team if they would take him back. The Sandites welcomed his return, and it paid off in the season opener Thursday night at SpiritLife Church. 

Oakley double-doubled with 11 points and 16 rebounds from the bench, while Jason Clark scored 19 points in Charles Page High School’s 68-55 win over Tulsa NOAH (1-2). 

“I put it up to the senior players whether they wanted to allow him back or not,” said ninth-year head coach Eric Savage. “I think they know what he can mean to this team. He demonstrated some of that tonight, so we’re glad to have him back for sure.”

The Sandites had to survive an early upset bid after falling behind 16 points in the first quarter. Clark took four fouls in the first quarter alone and spent half of the game on the bench, while his team of mostly first-year varsity players had to claw their way back into it.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who have been on varsity, but not a lot who have gotten a lot of minutes,” said Savage. “Jason Clark and Ethan Oakley have logged the most minutes the past few years as underclassmen but the rest of the guys haven’t.”

“They’re going to have to learn those roles a little bit. I think they were a little overhyped in the first half, but settled in in the second half, started rebounding better and executed better on the offensive end. We finally got Jason Clark going a little bit, and each of those seniors kind of stepped up and made plays there in the second half when we needed them to.”

Down 22-6, sophomore Alijah Roper hit a three-pointer to close out the first quarter and spark a Sandite resurgence. 

JD Dickson, a senior move-in from Jenks, tied the game up at 27-27 after scoring through a foul from Will Edwards and sinking the free throw, but the Jaguars found their feet again and rolled to a 39-28 halftime lead.

The second half was all Sandites as the visitors outscored their foes 20-10 in the third quarter and 20-8 in the fourth. Clark gave them their first lead with a layup at 44-43, but the Jags still led 57-52 early in the fourth. 

Then fouls caught up to the home team, which lost Sullivan Wagner, Jack Garner, and Connor Hislop. Dickson scored 16 points in his first game as a Sandite before fouling out, but the Sandites had the deeper bench and closed the game on a 19-point run. 

Cale Askew also had a big night for Sand Springs with 10 points and 8 rebounds.

This year's Sandites will look a bit different than the star-studded teams of the past. After graduating four of last year’s starting five, the team will turn to a much younger bench.

“I think it’s going to be a collective effort (this year),” said Savage. “I think this year’s team is a little bit different. We’re not going to just be able to rely on one guy and hope that he can carry us through, so we’re going to have to definitely play together and rely on each other.”

“I think Kooper Kelley, a freshman, is going to get better and better as the year goes. That was a huge three he hit there late in the fourth quarter after struggling. He’s got the ability, just had first game varsity jitters I think. He’ll grow up as the season goes, but we’re definitely expecting big things from him.”

“We’re going to have to develop a little depth off the bench. Kade Holland, we’re looking for him to be able to come in as well as Blake Johnson to come in and provide some significant minutes for us.”

This season will be a unique one for Coach Savage for another reason, in addition to the lack of star power. It’ll also be the first time since 2014 that he hasn’t had one of his sons on the team.

Colt Savage was a four-year starter from 2015 to 2018 and ranks as the number-two all-time leading scorer at Sand Springs. Cale Savage and Cason Savage were also multi-year starters and leading contributors to the school’s deep playoff success the last eight years.

“It’s a different feel for sure,” said Savage. “I definitely miss having them out there. They were kind of the second coach on the floor when I had one of them in the game. They knew what I wanted and knew what I expected, so somebody else is going to have to take on those roles.”

Sand Springs will need a new star or two to rise up if they want to keep alive one of the longest eras of success in school history. The Sandites have made it to the Area playoffs seven of the last eight years, including two Regional Championships from 2019 to 2020. 

“It’s going to be a tough year,” said Savage. “ We’re going to be hopefully competitive in every game, but the conference is really good. I think every team in the conference has at least one college player, if not more, that’s been offered or already committed. We don’t have that type of player this year, so for us to be able to compete with that, we don’t have much room for error. We’re going to have to be very disciplined and rely on each other.”

Sand Springs basketball will return to action Friday, December 3rd in a home rematch against NOAH.

CPHS 68 NOAH 57
1Q: NOAH 22-9.
2Q: CPHS 19-17.
3Q: CPHS 20-10.
4Q: CPHS 20-8.
Free Throws: CPHS 19-of-31, NOAH 8-of-13.
Field Goals: CPHS 21-of-58, NOAH 21-of-59.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 21, NOAH 8.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 25, NOAH 17.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 46, NOAH 25.
Steals: CPHS 10, NOAH 9.
Blocks: CPHS 2, NOAH 2.
Fouls: CPHS 20, NOAH 25.

Scoring: (CPHS) Clark 19, Dickson 16, Oakley 11, Askew 10, Kelly 5, Brockman 4, Roper 3. (NOAH) Bell 14, Wagner 12, I. Hislop 8, Hill 7, Edwards 6, Garner 5, C. Hislop 5.