Frontier Valley Conference Men's Basketball Standings: Week Eleven

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Kyle Keener scored 13 in a game against Jenks this week. (Photo: Morgan Miller).

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The 2016-2017 boys' basketball season is far from over, but the Frontier Valley Conference is nearing the end of its competition as only three teams remain with a shot at the title. It's been an exciting year thus far with lots of parity and circular losses, living up to the FVC's reputation as one of the most competitive conferences in the state.

No. 1 Union (19-0 overall, 10-0 conference) is the clear favorite to win it all this season. The Redskins are the only undefeated team left in 6A, and one of only three undefeated teams in the state. In the past week they've defeated Sapulpa 79-61, Bixby 64-54, and Bartlesville 53-41. Mo Garcia scored 23  against the Chieftains, Ethan Chargois scored 23 against the Spartans, and the two scored 13 apiece against the Bruins.

The Redskins hold the No. 2 offense, No. 2 defense, and No. 1 margin of victory in the conference. All they need to do is win three out of four of their final games to clinch the title. They've already defeated Jenks 66-40, Broken Arrow 60-56, Bishop Kelley 65-42, and Owasso 62-39 thus far this season. 

No. 10 Broken Arrow (14-5, 8-2) has the closest shot of snatching the title from Union, but to do so they'll need to win out, and they'll need Union to lose three games. Or, if Union loses to Broken Arrow and one other team, the Tigers can win on point-differential if they top the Redskins by five points or more.

The Tigers are on a four-game win streak after topping Owasso 53-46, Muskogee 50-47, Bartlesville 49-48, and Bixby 65-46. Tony Hall scored 16 against the Rams, while Caleb Huffman led in the three games after that with 23 against the Roughers, 16 against the Bruins, and 14 against the Spartans.

Broken Arrow holds the No. 6 offense, No. 1 defense, and No. 2 margin of victory in the conference. Of their four remaining opponents, they've already defeated Sand Springs 55-54 and Bishop Kelley 44-41, but they fell 60-56 to Union and 59-57 to Sapulpa. 

No. 12 Sapulpa (12-4, 7-2) also has an outside shot at the title, and possibly a better shot than Broken Arrow. They're on a two-game winning streak, beating Owasso 77-73 and Jenks 54-52, after falling 79-61 to Union. Keenan Balance posted 28 against Union and Julian Smith did the same to Owasso.

With five games left, they're in the same boat as the Tigers. They need to win out, and they need Union to drop three. They currently hold the No. 1 offense, No. 9 defense, and No. 6 margin of victory in the conference. Of their remaining opponents, they've already defeated Bishop Kelley 60-50, and Broken Arrow 59-57. Their early season matchup at Bartlesville was rescheduled, so they'll finish the season with back-to-back games against the Bruins. They'll also need to avenge their 58-50 loss to Muskogee.

No. 8 Muskogee (12-5, 6-4) has fallen on hard times with three-straight losses and is officially out of the title picture. Something has happened to Muskogee's mojo and they've fallen 50-47 to Broken Arrow, who they had previously beaten, 56-52 to Bishop Kelley, and 74-64 to Owasso, who they had previously beaten. TyReece Berry posted 20 against the Tigers and 19 against the Comets, then Clarence Parks scored 21 against the Rams.

The Roughers still hold the No. 3 offense, No. 7 defense, and No. 3 margin of victory in the FVC. Of their remaining opponents, they've already beaten Bixby 65-63, Sapulpa 58-50, and Jenks 85-59. 

No. 17 Bartlesville (9-9, 4-5) picked up a a 56-45 win over Jenks last week, but fell 49-48 to Broken Arrow and 53-41 to Union this week. Barron Tanner led in all three games with 23, 17, and 25 points, respectively. 

The Bruins hold the No. 9 offense, No. 4 defense, and No. 7 margin of victory in the FVC. Of their remaining opponents they've already defeated Owasso 47-42, and Sand Springs 53-39 and 63-53. They'll need to avenge a 76-68 overtime loss to Bixby, and they'll finish with back-to-back games against Sapulpa, who they have yet to face this season. 

No. 15 Owasso (11-8, 4-6) split wins this past week, falling 77-73 to Sapulpa, but upsetting Muskogee 74-64. Jake Thompson posted 26 against the Chieftains, while Courtre Alexander led with 25 against the Roughers.

The Rams hold the No. 4 offense, No. 6 defense, and No. 4 margin of victory in the FVC. Of their remaining opponents, they've already defeated Jenks 66-52, but they'll need payback wins against the other three. They fell 47-42 to Bartlesville, 59-57 to Bishop Kelley, and 62-39 to Union.

Sand Springs (9-10, 3-7) has picked up back-to-back conference wins for the first time this season, topping Jenks 51-44 and Bishop Kelley 46-43. Colt Savage led in both games with 19 against the Trojans and 21 against the Comets. 

The Sandites hold the No. 5 offense, No. 5 defense, and No. 5 margin of victory in the conference. Of their remaining opponents, they've already defeated Bixby 76-61, but they'll need payback wins against Bartlesville and Broken Arrow. The Tigers trumped the Sandites 55-54, and the Bruins won 53-39 and 63-53.

Bixby (8-11, 3-7) is riding back-to-back losses after falling 64-54 to Union and 65-46 to Broken Arrow. Joey Homan scored 19 against the Redskins, while Will Fiser posted 20 against the Tigers.

The Spartans hold the No. 8 offense, No. 8 defense, and No. 9 margin of victory in the conference. Of their remaining opponents, they've already defeated Jenks 49-36 and Bartlesville 76-68, but they'll need payback wins against Muskogee and Sand Springs. The Roughers won 65-63 and the Sandites prevailed 76-71. 

5A No. 17 Bishop Kelley (7-11, 3-7) picked up a huge 56-52 upset of Muskogee, but fell 46-43 to Sand Springs. Alex Woodruff led in both games with 18 against the Roughers and 11 against the Sandites.

The Comets hold the No. 10 offense, No. 3 defense, and No. 8 margin of victory in the conference. Of their remaining opponents, they've already defeated Owasso 59-57, but they fell 60-50 to Sapulpa, 65-42 to Union, and 44-41 to Broken Arrow.

Jenks (3-13, 1-9) has had an off year, but still has the bones to finish on a strong note. This past week they fell 51-44 to Sand Springs and 54-52 to Sapulpa. Ananias Carson posted 12 against the Sandites.

The Trojans hold the No. 7 offense, No. 10 defense, and No. 10 margin of victory in the conference. Of their remaining opponents, they've fallen 66-40 to Union, 49-36 to Bixby, 66-52 to Owasso, and 85-59 to Muskogee. 

Remaining Conference Schedule

2/6 Muskogee @ Bixby
2/7 Sand Springs @ Broken Arrow
2/7 Bartlesville @ Owasso
2/7 Bishop Kelley @ Sapulpa
2/7 Jenks @ Union
2/10 Union @ Broken Arrow
2/10 Bartlesville @ Sand Springs
2/10 Jenks @ Bixby
2/10 Owasso @ Bishop Kelley
2/10 Sapulpa @ Muskogee
2/14 Sapulpa @ Broken Arrow
2/14 Bixby @ Bartlesville
2/14 Union @ Bishop Kelley
2/14 Owasso @ Jenks
2/17 Bishop Kelley @ Broken Arrow
2/17 Bartlesville @ Sapulpa
2/17 Sand Springs @ Bixby
2/17 Jenks @ Muskogee
2/17 Union @ Owasso
2/20 Sapulpa @ Bartlesville

Conference Strength:

  1. Central Oklahoma (48)
  2. Green Country (47.66)
  3. Big Ten (47.6)
  4. Frontier Valley (45.7)
  5. All-City (30.09)

FVC Leading Scorers
(points-per-game)

  1. Colt Savage (Sand Springs) 22.5
  2. Keenan Balance (Sapulpa) 21.3
  3. Ethan Chargois (Union) 18.8
  4. Brooks Haddock (Muskogee) 18.4
  5. Julian Smith (Sapulpa) 18.1
  6. TyReece Berry (Muskogee) 17.4
  7. Caleb Huffman (Broken Arrow) 16.9
  8. Josh Proctor (Owasso) 16.4
  9. Kyle Keener (Sand Springs) 15.8
  10. Barron Tanner (Bartlesville) 15.2

 

Frontier Valley Conference Men's Basketball Standings, Week Nine

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The 2016-2017 season is well under way and the Frontier Valley Conference is as competitive as ever. Eight out of ten FVC teams are ranked within their divisions and the Union Redskins are currently the undefeated unanimous pick as the No. 1 team in the state. They are also the only remaining team undefeated in conference play. The FVC is currently ranked third out of the five 6A conferences in overall strength.

No. 1 Union (12-0, 6-0) holds the best defense in the whole state, allowing only 48 points per game, on average. They have the third-ranked offense in the conference and win by an average of 15.8 points. In the last two weeks they have topped Bishop Kelley 65-42, Owasso 62-39, and Muskogee 78-42. SMU-commit Ethan Chargois scored 22 against both Kelley and Muskogee, but sat out Owasso with a hand injury. In that game Mo Garcia stepped up to lead the team with 20 points. 

No. 9 Muskogee (8-2, 5-1) holds the second-best offense in the conference and the fourth-highest margin of victory. In the last two weeks they have topped Sand Springs 47-42 and Jenks 85-59, but were just hammered 78-42 by Union in what was expected to be a somewhat close match. Brooks Haddock has been the consistent top dog this season and posted 27 against Jenks, but could only muster a team-best 12 against the Redskins. Tyreece Berry has been back in action since the new year and led the team with 18 against Sand Springs. 

No. 13 Sapulpa (7-2, 4-1) has the top-rated offense in the conference, averaging more than 68 points per game. Both of their conference games this year have been close ones, 59-57 over Broken Arrow and 72-68 over Sand Springs. Keenan Balance led the Chieftains to a come-from-behind victory over their archrivals from Sand Springs with 23 points, closely followed by Keenan Balance with 21. Balance also posted a team-best 20 points against Broken Arrow.

No. 11 Broken Arrow (8-4, 4-2) holds the second-best offense in the conference, third in the state, allowing only 49.1 points per game for the third-best margin of victory in the FVC. The Tigers have had a tough start to 2017, falling 59-57 to Sapulpa and only topping Jenks 46-38 in a game that saw the entire starting line benched by a frustrated head coach. Make no mistake, the powerhouse program is still a solid contender for the conference title if they can over come Muskogee next week. 

No. 19 Bartlesville (6-5, 3-2) is middle of the pack both offensively and defensively, but has still managed to come out on top more often than not. The Bruins fell 76-68 to Bixby in triple overtime last week and had their game against Sapulpa canceled due to weather, but got back in the win column Tuesday with a 64-57 victory over Bishop Kelley. Barron Tanner has been the top dog in both of the last two games, scoring 23 against Bixby and 28 against Kelley. 

5A No. 14 Bishop Kelley (4-6, 2-4) has done a good job keeping up with the 6A public school competitors, but dropped both of their last two conference games. The Comets hold the fourth-best defense in the FVC, but fell 65-42 to Union and 64-57 to Bartlesville. Ryan Gendron posted 18 against Bartlesville, closely followed by Alex Woodruff with 17. 

No. 16 Owasso (7-5, 2-4) got off to a rough start with four straight losses to start the season, but have been making a solid comeback since the new year. After topping 5A No. 6 East Central (8-5) and No. 8 Booker T. Washington (9-3) to sweep the Skiatook Invitational, the Rams returned to conference play with a bang. They defeated Jenks 66-52 and Bixby 62-50, but fell 62-39 to Union. Jake Thompson posted 10 against both Jenks and Union, with 15 against Bixby. Josh Proctor led the team with 16 against Jenks and 13 against Bixby. Courtre led against Bixby with 17 and also had 12 against Jenks. 

Bixby (5-7, 2-4) won a 76-68 triple-overtime shootout with Bartlesville, but fell 76-71 to Sand Springs and 62-50 to Owasso. Will Fiser scored 17 against Bartlesville, 22 against Sand Springs, and 11 against Owasso. 

No. 18 Sand Springs (6-6, 1-5) notched their first conference win with a 76-71 performance against Bixby, but fell 47-42 to Muskogee and 72-68 to Sapulpa after leading for most of the game. The Sandites have the fourth-best offense and third-best defense in the conference. Colt Savage posted 20 against Muskogee and Sapulpa and 34 against Bixby. Jacob Garbey had 21 against Bixby and Kyle Keener had 21 against Sapulpa. 

Jenks (1-9, 0-6) is still looking for their first conference win, despite a 21-point performance from Cole Surrett against Owasso and a 17-point performance from Eli Harris against Broken Arrow. The Trojans fell 66-52 to Owasso, 85-59 to Muskogee, and 46-38 to Broken Arrow. 

Conference Strength:

  1. Big Ten (51.5)
  2. Central Oklahoma (48)
  3. Frontier Valley (45.4)
  4. Green Country (43.1)
  5. All-City 32.09

FVC Leading Scorers (points-per-game)

  1. Colt Savage (Sand Springs) 21.2
  2. Brooks Haddock (Muskogee) 20.7
  3. Keenan Balance (Sapulpa) 19.9
  4. Eli Harris (Jenks) 19.7
  5. Caleb Huffman (Broken Arrow) 18.9
  6. Julian Smith (Sapulpa) 17.1
  7. Ethan Chargois (Union) 17.1
  8. Kyle Keener (Sand Springs) 16.6
  9. TyReece Berry (Muskogee) 16.3
  10. Josh Proctor (Owasso) 15.8

January conference schedule:
1/24 Union @ Sand Springs
1/24 Bartlesville @ Muskogee
1/24 Broken Arrow @ Owasso
1/24 Bixby @ Sapulpa
1/24 Bishop Kelley @ Jenks
1/27 Sapulpa @ Union
1/27 Muskogee @ Broken Arrow
1/27 Sand Springs @ Owasso
1/27 Jenks @ Bartlesville
1/27 Bishop Kelley @ Bixby
1/31 Bixby @ Union
1/31 Muskogee @ Bishop Kelley
1/31 Broken Arrow @ Bartlesville
1/31 Owasso @ Sapulpa
1/31 Sand Springs @ Jenks
 

Frontier Valley Conference Mens' Basketball standings

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The 2016-2017 High School basketball season is well under way, and is shaping up to be a good one for the Frontier Valley Conference. Seven out of ten FVC teams are ranked within their divisions. Union and Muskogee currently lead the pack with each being undefeated both within the conference and overall. 

The FVC is currently fourth out of the five 6A conferences in strength of schedule, but the season is still young and they could easily move up a few spots as the season progresses. 

No. 3 Union (3-0, 3-0) holds the best defense in the conference, allowing only 47 points-per-game on average. They have the fourth-best offense and the second-best margin of victory. They started their season with a 50-46 victory over Bartlesville, smoked Jenks 66-40, then topped Broken Arrow 60-56. 6'7" Southern Methodist University committed senior Ethan Chargois leads the Redskins with 15 points per game, including a season-high 23 against Jenks.

No. 11 Muskogee (6-0, 3-0) leads the conference in offense, averaging 69 points per game, and is seventh in defense, allowing 56 for the best margin of victory in the FVC. They edged out Owasso 65-64 in overtime during their season opener, topped Bixby 65-63, and beat Sapulpa 58-50. 6'2" junior Brooks Haddock has led the team in the last five games, averaging 20.3 points. TyReece Berry scored 25 in the season opener but has been out of commission since then. Berry is expected to return after the new year, setting up the Roughers for one of the top offenses in the division.

No. 10 Broken Arrow (5-2, 3-1) holds the No. 5 offense, No. 2 defense, and No. 4 margin of victory in the conference. They edged out Bishop Kelley 44-41, topped Bixby 53-35, and came from behind to beat Sand Springs 55-54. In their last game they narrowly fell 60-56 to the Redskins. 6'2" point guard Caleb Huffman has led the Tigers in six out of seven games this season with an average score of 21. 

No. 13 Sapulpa (4-2, 2-1) holds the No. 2 offense, No. 9 defense, and No. 5 margin of victory in the conference. They topped Jenks 78-70 in the highest-scoring conference game of the year, then beat Bishop Kelley 60-50 before falling 58-50 to Muskogee. Three Chieftains are averaging in double digits, led by Keenan Ballance with 19 points per game.

No. 17 Bartlesville (3-3, 2-1) is ninth in offense, fifth in defense, and sixth in margin of victory. They topped Sand Springs 53-39 and Owasso 47-42 before falling 50-46 to Union. Four different players have led the team and two are averaging in the double. AJ Archambo leads the team with 13 points per game.

5A No. 16 Bishop Kelley (4-3, 2-2) is eighth in the conference in offense, fifth in defense, and seventh in margin of victory. They lost their season opener 44-41 to Broken Arrow, defeated Sand Springs 45-42, fell 60-50 to Sapulpa, and edged out Owasso 59-57. Three Comets have led the team in scoring and two are averaging double digits. Ryan Gendron leads the team with 15 points per game.

No. 18 Bixby (3-3, 1-2) is seventh in offense, sixth in defense, and eighth in margin of victory. They defeated Jenks 49-36, but fell 53-35 to Broken Arrow and 65-63 to Muskogee. The Spartans are led by Joey Homan with 16 points per game.

Sand Springs (3-3, 0-3) is third in offense, second in defense, and third in margin of victory. They have yet to secure a conference win, falling 53-39 to Bartlesville, 45-42 to Bishop Kelley, and 55-54 to Broken Arrow. They led the Tigers though the entire fourth before a late turnover gave BA the win. Junior Colt Savage has led his team in five of six games this season and averages 21 points per game.

Owasso (0-3, 0-3) is sixth in offense, eighth in defense, and is still looking for their first win this season. They fell 47-42 to Bartlesville, 65-64 to Muskogee, and 59-57 to Bishop Kelley. They're led by Josh Proctor with 17 points per game, including 27 against Muskogee. 

Jenks (0-7, 0-3) is ninth in offense, tenth in defense, and is still looking for a win. They fell 78-70 to Sapulpa, 66-40 to Union, and 49-36 to Bixby. 

Conference Strength:

  1. Central Oklahoma (51)
  2. Big Ten (49.7)
  3. Green Country (48)
  4. Frontier Valley (40.8)
  5. All-City (32.5)

FVC Leading Scorers (points-per-game):

  1. TyReece Berry (Muskogee) 25.0
  2. Caleb Huffman (Broken Arrow) 21.1
  3. Colt Savage (Sand Springs) 21.0
  4. Brooks Haddock (Muskogee) 20.3
  5. Keenan Ballance (Sapulpa) 19.6
  6. Josh Proctor (Owasso) 17.7
  7. Julian Smith (Sapulpa) 17.0
  8. Joey Homan (Bixby) 16.3
  9. Ryan Gendron (Bishop Kelley) 15.9
  10. Kyle Keener (Sand Springs) 15.5

Editor's Note: We are currently missing individual scoring results for several games. Please forward results to SanditePrideNews@gmail.com.

Missing:

  • 12/6 Jenks vs Sapulpa
  • 12/8 Jenks vs Edmond North
  • 12/9 Jenks vs Edmond Memorial
  • 12/9 Muskogee vs Enid
  • 12/10 Jenks vs Casady
  • 12/10 Bixby vs East Central
  • 12/13 Jenks vs Union
  • 12/16 Bixby vs Jenks

Sandites will travel to Owasso for Regionals and battle Broken Arrow in Round One

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association released the 6A Regional baseball brackets Monday afternoon. The Charles Page High School team (21-14) will travel to Owasso Wednesday at 2:30 PM for their first round game against Broken Arrow (21-14). 

The Sandites and Tigers have neck-and-neck records, each winning 21 games and losing 14, and each having one win over the other. In the Sand Springs/Broken Arrow Wooden Bat Tournament the Tigers got the 6-4 win, but the Sandites retaliated with a 10-3 victory of their own less than a week later. 

The tournament is double-elimination, and from there the Sandites will take on either Sapulpa (6-21) or Owasso (25-6). Sapulpa shouldn't pose much difficulty, as the Sandites have already defeated their Highway 97 rivals three times this season by a combined score of 26-7.

Owasso will be the biggest obstacle in the way of the Sandites' ticket to State. The Rams are the top team in the district and have already defeated Sand Springs twice, just last week. The games were far from blowouts, however, and the Sandites nearly overtook Owasso in the first game. losing by a close 11-10.

PITCHING

Conner Dennis (1-0) has an earned run average of 0.00, having faced 23 batters over 7 innings. He's given up 1 hit, 3 walks, 0 runs, and 0 earned runs while pitching 64% strikes for 4 strikeouts and a .643 WHIP.

Rhett Rutledge (2-1) has an earned run average of 2.07, having faced 125 batters over 27 innings. He's given up 25 hits, 21 walks, 13 runs, and 8 earned runs while pitching 56% strikes for 23 strikeouts and a .561 WHIP. He also has 2 saves and 0 blown saves.

Brock Youngblood (4-1) has an earned run average of 2.57, having faced 136 batters over 33 innings. He's given up 33 hits, 14 walks, 18 runs, and 12 earned runs while pitching 64% strikes for 13 strikeouts and a 1.317 WHIP.

Hunter Greathouse (2-0) has an earned run average of 3.73, having faced 66 batters over 15 innings. He's given up 8 hits, 12 walks, 10 runs, and 8 earned runs while pitching 61% strikes for 32 strikeouts and a 1.200 WHIP. He also has 1 save and 0 blown saves.

University of Oklahoma-commit Jake Terry has an earned run average of 3.77, having faced 211 batters over 42.66 innings. He's given up 45 hits, 42 walks, 29 runs, and 23 earned runs while pitching 58% strikes for 51 strikeouts and a 1.946 WHIP. 

Jake Ward (4-3) has an earned run average of 3.91, having faced 227 batters over 48 innings. He's given up 49 hits, 34 walks, 33 runs, and 27 earned runs while pitching 57% strikes for 49 strikeouts and a 1.635 WHIP.

Josh Cordell (2-3) has an earned run average of 3.95, having faced 164 batters over 34 innings. He's given up 40 hits, 41 walks, 31 runs, and 19 earned runs while pitching 42% strikes for 26 strikeouts and a 1.753 WHIP.

Joey Montgomery (1-2) has an earned run average of 6.64, having faced 96 batters over 19 innings. He's given up 23 hits, 12 walks, 22 runs, and 18 earned runs while pitching 55% strikes for 10 strikeouts and a 1.632 WHIP.

 

BATTING

Cody Motes holds a .500 batting average, .500 slugging average, and .500 OBP with 3 runs, 1 RBI, 1 single, and 3 stolen bases.

Hunter Greathouse has a .390 batting average, a .470 slugging average, and a .483 OBP. He's scored 23 runs and 15 RBI with 29 singles, 8 doubles, 2 triples, and 8 sacrifices. He's also stolen 11 bases this season.

Jake Ward has batted .381 this season with a .488 slugging average and .563 OBP. He's scored 20 runs and 16 RBI with 25 singles, 6 doubles, 1 home run, 4 sacrifices, and 4 stolen bases.

Josh Taber has batted .366 this season with a .387 slugging average and a .491 OBP. He's scored 30 runs and 19 RBI with 32 singles, 2 doubles, 6 sacrifices, and 23 stolen bases.

Joey Montgomery is batting .351 with a .443 slugging average and a .457 OBP. He's scored 3 runs and 21 RBI with 27 singles, 6 doubles, 1 home run, 1 sacrifice, and 2 stolen bases.

Tyler McCallie is sitting at .339 batting, and .542 slugging, with a .473 OBP. He's scored 20 runs and 11 RBI with 13 singles, 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 2 sacrifices, and 9 stolen bases.

Rhett Rutledge has batted .339 this season with a .523 slugging average and .471 OBP. He's scored 34 runs and 20 RBI with 24 singles, 8 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs, 7 sacrifices, and 20 stolen bases.

Riley Rutledge has batted .333 this season with a .333 slugging average and .600 OBP. He's scored 2 runs and 1 RBI with 1 single.

Treyce Tolbert holds a .314 batting average, .392 slugging average, and .462 OBP He's scored 25 runs and 21 RBI with 26 singles, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 5 sacrifices, and 10 stolen bases.

Ty Fain holds a .282 batting average, a .308 slugging average, and a .451 OBP. He's scored 10 runs and 8 RBI with 9 singles, 2 doubles, 2 stole bases, and 4 sacrifices.

Jake Terry has batted .276 this season with a .483 slugging average and .408 OBP. He's scored 9 runs and 10 RBI on 8 singles, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 2 sacrifices, and 5 stolen bases.

Southwestern Christian University-signee Trevor Tolbert has batted .244 this season for a .308 slugging average and .366 OBP. He's scored 10 runs and 17 RBI on 15 singles, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 sacrifices, and 1 stolen base.

Mack Thompson holds a .237 batting average, .395 slugging average, and .396 OBP. He's scored 16 runs and 4 RBI with 5 singles, 3 doubles, 1 home run, and 5 stolen bases.

Brock Youngblood has a .200 batting average, a .200 slugging average, and a .200 OBP. He has scored 1 runs and 2 RBI on 1 single.

Malachi Walton has batted .167 with a .167 slugging average and a .375 OBP. He's scored 17 runs and 2 RBI with 1 single and 5 stolen bases.

Kameron Adcock has racked up a .167 batting average, a .167 slugging average, and a .286 on-base percentage. He's scored 3 runs, hit 1 single, and stolen 1 base this season.

CPHS grad Nick Tate wins NAIA National Championship in 100-99 OT upset

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Photo by: Brian Beard, Creative Images Photography

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School Class of 2011 graduate Nick Tate is a basketball National Champion after scoring 14 points for No.4 Mid-American Christian University in a 100-99 overtime nail-biter upset against No.1 Georgetown, Kentucky.

Things never came together for Tate's class in high school. The Sandites went 14-46 over the three years that Tate was at Charles Page, but that didn't stop the talented player from averaging 22.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game his senior year. He was the leading 6A scorer on the East side of the state and made the Frontier Valley All-Conference First Team, Tulsa All-Metro Second Team, and was an honorable mention on the Oklahoma All-State Team. 

In April of 2011, Tate signed to play with Oklahoma Christian University and was one of the top outside shooters in the entire Heartland Conference. He played in 28 games as a true freshman, started two, and averaged 8.6 points per game. He had the second-best shooting percentage on the team at 48.6% and scored a season-high 22 points with 13 rebounds in a win over Crowley's Ridge. He recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in a NAIA playoff loss to eventual National Champion Concordia, California. 

His sophomore year he scored 13 points in a single period in a season-opening win over Central Bible College and went on to play in all 31 games and averaged 10.2 points and 4.3 rebounds with a 41.9% three-point shooting percentage. He hit a game-winning 18-foot turnaround buzzer-beater jump shot in overtime for a win over Arkansas-Ft. Smith and scored a career-high 23 points in a loss at St. Mary's, Texas, then led his team with 17 points in a win over Spring Arbor, Michigan in the NCCAA Championship quarterfinals in his team's first year in the league. That year he played in his first National Championship Title game, but lost to Shorter, Georgia in overtime. 

In his junior year he started 24 games and increased his scoring average to 14.4 points per game and was the second-leading scorer on the team. From there he transferred to Southwestern Oklahoma State University and redshirted due to NCAA Division II transfer rules. Instead of playing his senior year at SWOSU, he transferred again to Mid-American Christian University for his final year of eligibility.

This season he started 32 games and played in 35 for the Evangels and averaged 26 points and 6.7 rebounds per game to help his team post a 28-9 record. In January he was named the Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Week and in February he scored a career-high 33 against Southwestern Christian University.

The Evangels worked their way through the NAIA Division I Championship bracket this past week. Tate scored 10 points against Park and Biola, 3 in the quarterfinals against Cumberlands, 11 in the semis against Campbellsville, and 14 in the Championship game against Georgetown. 

Georgetown led for the entire game, once by as much as 14, till MACU ran 19-5 to tie the game up at 60 with 13:11 left. From there Georgetown was fighting to keep minor leads as the two teams exchanged baskets for the next 11 minutes. 

With 0:21 left, Chris Runnels hit a field goal to force overtime at 82-82. Georgetown hit four from the charity stripe to start the extra period, but MACU responded quickly, taking an 87-86 lead. The two teams exchanged the lead three more times before the Evangels finally won it. Trent Gilbert hit a three from the corner with less than five seconds to play for the Georgetown advantage, but Malcom Mann drove the distance and got off the buzzer-beater with a tenth-second left and the Evangels took home the first NAIA National Title in school history. Not only that, but it was the team's first ever National Title appearance in school history. 

Tate was a valuable piece of the puzzle in his team's Championship game, grabbing 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block, in addition to his 14 points. He was also named NAIA Player of the Year. Not a half-bad senior year, if you ask me.

Lady Rams fend off fourth quarter rally attempt by Lady Sandites, 53-48

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Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No.11 ranked Sand Springs Lady Sandites (14-7) just can't seem to catch a break. After winning eight straight earlier in the season, they've now dropped five of their last seven matchups and haven't defeated a ranked opponent in nearly a month.

It's not due to a lack of effort, however. All of their last  three losses were contested to the final moments and were to top-ten teams. 

The girls defeated the Union Redskins (8-13) by double digits Friday night after eight Sandites got on the board and Gloria Mutiri and Sydney Pennington each doubled with 12 and 10 points respectively.

Tuesday night the girls battled valiantly against the No.9 Owasso Lady Rams (17-5) and returned from multiple double digit deficits to as close as 49-48 before the Rams finally got the edge and the 53-48 win in the final moments.

This time Pennington was the top scorer for the Sandites, followed by freshman Destiny Johnson, and each put up 8 points in the final stanza that saw the home team outscore their opponents 17-9.

The Sandites spent the entire night in the hole after giving up four straight turnovers to start with a 9-0 deficit. Johnson finally interrupted to onslaught with a layup, followed by Owasso's top-scorer, Rachel Skalnik, then the girls came alive. 

Pennington missed her first shot of the game, but rebounded herself and sank the second attempt to cut it to 11-4. Sophomores Terryn Milton and Mya Bhinhar put up a basket each for the opposition, but Gloria Mutiri hit her lone basket of the night soon after. Mutiri's next attempt would fall short but Pennington fought for another rebound and hooked the ball out to senior Cierra Scott in the corner for a three.

Johnson snagged a steal off the Ram's subsequent possession and handed it off to Scott for yet another three to make the game 16-12.

Some sloppy Sandite work gave up the next five points to Owasso but Pennington responded with five of her own to cut the gap to 21-17 at the buzzer.

The next two periods were far closer but Owasso carried a 33-26 advantage into halftime and worked it up to 42-31 by the final quarter.

After a Loni Culley layup put the Sandites in the hole by 13 points it looked like the hotly contested game would begin to work itself further in favor of the visitors, but then our two heroes of the night went on a run.

Holly Kersgieter went 1-of-2 from the line, then Johnson hit a two before Pennington went on a 6-0 run and the girls were right back in it at 44-40. Milton hit a two pointer and added the extra penalty shot, but Pennington responded with a two followed by a pair of free throws by Johnson. 

Milton added her 13th point of the night to make the advantage 49-44. Mutiri missed a two point attempt that Owasso rebounded but Scott snagged a steal and sent it to Johnson for two.  

Both teams were in the bonus as Mutiri fouled Culley on the floor with 1:22 left, but the Ram missed her first shot and Pennington rebounded and passed it to Johnson who sent it to Kersgieter in the corner. The freshman had zero coverage and it looked like the Sandites were about to tie the game, but the shot hit rim and there were no Sandites there to rebound it.

Culley was bringing it up court when Johnson managed to slap the ball away and into the ready hands of Isabella Regalado who sent it back to Johnson on her way for the layup to close it down to 49-48 with 0:53 left.

Culley got payback with a layup of her own 21 seconds later and the return was in the hands of Cierra Scott, one of the best three-point shooters in the game. Owasso applied a full court press and Skalnik made off with the ball for a game-clinching two-pointer and despite being outscored 17-9 in the last period, the Rams held on to enough of their lead for a 53-48 final score. 

Sand Springs has but one game left in the regular season and is currently fifth in Frontier Valley Conference standings with a 6-7 record in the talent-packed league. The girls will take on Jenks Friday night whom they already have a 64-43 road win over from a month ago. After that it's Regionals next Thursday as the Lady Sandites travel to Sapulpa to take on the Union Redskins who they have two double-digit wins over this season. If they add a third win they'll advance to the Area tournament regardless of the outcome of the Regional finals.