#11 Lady Sandites upset by Bartlesville 46-41 in overtime

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Morgan Miller, Staff

The Sand Springs girls led for the entire game, often by double digits, until a late rally from senior Lauryn Washington put the Lady Bruins back in the game.

The 11th-ranked Charles Page High School varsity Lady Sandites (12-4) hadn't been tied since 0-0 and for all appearances they had an easy win over #17 Bartlesville (9-8). 

Bartlesville was like a pesky gnat, however, and wouldn't go away. Sand Springs jumped to a 7-0 lead to start, but the Bruins fought back within a single possession to end the first period 9-7. 

The Sandites went on a run to start the second quarter, with Holly Kersgieter, Sydney Pennington, and Destiney Johnson scoring back-to-back-to-back to double the Bruins 15-7. 

Jena Williams, Ronni Gilliard, and Washington sank a series of free throws to narrow it to 22-15 at the half. Free throws would prove to be one of the most crucial points of the game for both teams. 

Sophomore Gloria Mutiri scored seven in the third period en route to a thirteen-point advantage and it was beginning to look more and more like the Lady Sandites had this game all wrapped up. 

Then Washington showed up, scoring thirteen points in the fourth quarter to cut the gap to 2. With seven seconds left, Gilliard drew a foul and sank both of her free throws to tie the game up for the first time since tip-off.

At 39-all, the girls were headed into overtime for the first time this season. 

Bartlesville won the tip-off and Washington sank a two to give Bartlesville their first lead of the game. Pennington tied things up at 41, but Bartlesville went on a free throw spree to ice their cake 46-41. 

Despite their (at times) heavy lead, the Sandites had a rough time scoring, shooting only 35% on field goals and 5-of-17 from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Bartlesville scored 14-of-16 on freebies. 

Mutiri shot 6-of-8 on field goals and tacked on a pair of freebies for a team-high 14 points, making her the lone Sandite to double in the low-scoring affair. Washington had the game-high, however, with 24 points. 

This marks two-straight losses for the girls who have ran up an impressive tournament record with wins over 5A #4 Shawnee for the Bishop Kelley Invitational Championship, and a tough Life Prep Academy team for the Interstate Classic Championship. When it comes to Frontier Valley, however, the girls have had a tough time with upset losses to Bixby and now Bartlesville. 

The girls are 5th in conference with a 4-4 record and big games looming against #5 Muskogee and #1 Sapulpa. They've more than proven they can take on tough foes, however, upsetting #8 Owasso and leading Sapulpa for much of that game before the Chieftains finally rebounded. 

The next game for the girls is this Tuesday with the Muskogee Lady Roughers (14-2) visiting Ed Dubie Field House at 6:00 pm. 

The Lady Sandites also lost their Tuesday night match-up against #4 Broken Arrow, 54-47.

#20 Jenks Trojans upset #10 Sandites

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity dribblers still hold their #10 ranking, but have been going in the opposite direction from where they started.  

After starting the season 7-0, the boys have given up four straight and gave up a close loss to the #20 Jenks Trojans whom they should have handled easily. 

The Sandites got on the board first with a layup by Arvionte Nichols, but TJ Washington shot three from three-point range, broken up by a Kyle Keener free throw, to make the score 9-3. Once more it would appear the Trojans were having difficulty at the score table, however, and the score was only updated to 7-3--a mistake that would not be corrected.  

The Trojan scoring frenzy continued till they had worked up a 22-9 first quarter lead.

The second quarter belonged to Sand Springs, however, as the Sandites found their mojo and doubled the home team 16-8 by half time. The visitors still trailed by 5 (three according to the scoreboard) but they were clearly on the up-and-up.  

The Sandites won the third quarter as well, but only by 12-11 and still trailed by four going into the final period.  

Both teams battled valiantly but ultimately it came down to a series of desperation fouls and the Trojans came out on top for a 53-48 finish with Washington sinking a pair of freebies for an incredible 28 point game high. 

Keener and Haddock both doubled but it was a shortage of rebounds that ultimately did the Sandites in.  

Jacob Garbey scores 21 in JV loss to Jenks

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The JV Sandite boys got off to a great start against the Jenks junior Trojans Friday night at Frank Herald Stadium, battling back and forth before taking a 19-17 lead at the end of the first.

The boys led by as much as 27-19 at one point before the home team went on a scoring streak nearly catching up 29-27 at the half.  

At some point during halftime the score was changed to 27-27 and the opposing teams were unable to reach a consensus on the score and the home team had their way. 

Not that those two points mattered in the end however, as the Trojans out scored the Sandites 23-8 in the third with 16 unanswered points before Josh Taber sank a pair of free throws.

Riding a 13 point advantage into the final period, the Trojans added another 11 to finish 61-44, or 61-42 according to the scoreboard. 

The boys fall to 1-5 on the season, despite a great performance from Jacob Garbey who scored an outstanding 21 points. 

Haddock and Savage combine for 39 in loss to Union

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Virgil Noah, Staff

It's not often that two players can outscore an entire team, but for much of Tuesday night's home loss to #7 Union, it looked like Brooks Haddock and Colt Savage might just do it. Midway through the third quarter, the #11 Charles Page varsity basketball team held a 42-35 lead over the visiting Redskins--35 of those were scored by the two ferocious sophomores. Two Sandites had tied all nine of Union's scoring players to that point. 

Unfortunately, the pair ran out of scoring steam, and no other Minuteman managed to double--not even the 6'6 junior Kyle Keener who had averaged nearly 12 points per game till that point. 

Credit that to Union.

The brutal outpouring from Haddock and Savage wasn't due to an easy opponent. Far from it. The number two team in Frontier Valley is a major contender for the 6A state title this year, going 2-1 in the recent Tournament of Champions at the Oral Roberts Mabee Center. 

Union got off to an early 7-0 lead before the Sandites rallied to a 13-11 lead that Union tied at 13 just before the buzzer.

Once again the Redskins went on a run, scoring 11 unanswered points before the home team got it back in gear. Only Haddock and Savage scored in the second period, and Union took a narrow 26-24 lead into the half.

Arvionte Nichols tied things up to start the third with a pair of free throws, then Haddock scored ten and Savage added 6 more to take a 42-35 lead.

The Redskins narrowed to 45-43 going into the final period, then opened up the canons, shooting 7 unanswered and doubling the Sandites 14-7 for the win. Sand Springs went down swinging, attempting to rally with a pair of Savage free-throws and a Thompson three-pointer to take the lead back 52-51, but Nile Felton responded with a three of his own and Ethan Charquois went 3-for-3 from the charity stripe to effectively end the game. 

Charquois finished with a team-high 17, joined by Adrian Rodriguez and Mo Garcia in double status. 

Defensively, Nichols and Keener were giants for the Sandites, with Nichols grabbing the most rebounds and Keener connecting for the most blocks. 

This is only Sand Springs's second loss of the season after a 7-0 run came to an end last week at the Ardmore tournament finals where 5A #2 Carl Albert defended their undefeated status. It is their first conference loss, placing them 2-1 in Frontier Valley and third in the standings. 

The dribblers will return to action next Tuesday at #11 Owasso who is currently #1 in conference standings. 

The JV game wasn't nearly the battle that Varsity was. The average Union player had a good 6 inches on the Sandites making rebounds few and far between for the home team. 

Jacob Garbey led the Sandites with 11 points, followed by Caleb Wash with 8.

For the Redskins, Michiah McQuarters lead with 13 with Jordan Flood right behind him shooting 11. 

Sand Springs was neck-and-neck with the Redskins in the second and fourth periods, but Union more than doubled them in the first and third, and held off any rally attempts for a 58-40 final score. 

JV falls to 1-2 for the season and will next see action Friday night at home against the Green Country Defenders at 5PM. 

Union JV hammers Sandites

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Union Redskin JV basketball team hammered the Sandites 58-40 in the first game of 2016.  

Size was a major factor as the average Union player had 3-6 inches on the Sandites, making rebounds few and far between for the home team.  

Jacob Garby was the lone SandIte to double, scoring 11. Meanwhile Union's Michiah McQuarters led with 13, followed by Jordan Flood with 11.

Union JV hammers Sandites

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Union Redskin JV basketball team hammered the Sandites 58-40 in the first game of 2016.  

Size was a major factor as the average Union player had 3-6 inches on the Sandites, making rebounds few and far between for the home team.  

Jacob Garby was the lone SandIte to double, scoring 11. Meanwhile Union's Michiah McQuarters led with 13, followed by Jordan Flood with 11.