Sandites Beat Enid, Putnam City, and U.S. Grant in Perfect Week

A 77-23 rout of U.S. Grant capped a perfect week for the Charles Page High School boys’ basketball team (13-6, 5-5), which has now won three in a row since a 61-43 loss to No. 2 Owasso last Friday.

All 14 varsity players saw substantial playing time in the Saturday afternoon district makeup game that easily could have eclipsed 100 points had the Sandites not limited themselves to their third string for the entirety of the fourth quarter.

“We got back late last night after a tough win on the road,” said head coach Eric Savage. “We just knew we had to come out early with some emotion and some intensity. Didn’t want to be flat.”

“I thought we came out and shot the ball well early and everybody got off to a good start, then we were able to get up and down the lineup and give everybody some significant minutes today.”

Kason Evans scored back-to-back buckets to open the game and Deke Thompson added a trey for a 7-0 lead before Dontay Phillips got the visitors on the board. The Sandites responded with a 17-0 run and took a 29-4 advantage into the second quarter.

After Phillips’s second bucket late in the first, Sand Springs went on a 24-0 streak and ultimately took a 58-7 lead into halftime.

Things slowed down in the second half, but the Sandites still got 28 points off their bench and 12 different players entered the scorebook.

“They show up every day and they’re putting in as much time as the starters and they’re working just as hard,” said Savage. “It’s great to be able to reward them with some playing time when we get the opportunity.”

Thompson led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Evans with 11 as the only other Sandite in double digits. Khalil Allen had the best all-around performance with 7 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals, 4 assists, and 4 blocks.

Zane Fueshko, usually the first man off the bench, got the start after strong performances at Putnam City on Friday.

Allen scored 11 and Fueshko added 10 in the 51-34 district road win, trailing only Thompson, who had 22.

“(Zane) gave us a spark,” said Savage. “He’s been shooting the ball really well and I just wanted to kind of reward him for that.”

Putnam City led early, but the Sandites went on a 15-0 run from the first into the second and led 21-18 at halftime. Sand Springs held the Pirates to only two points in the third quarter and maintained a comfortable lead through the fourth.

“It was a rowdy environment,” said Savage. “We had the band right behind us. We jumped out early and then it was a little sluggish there in the second quarter.”

“We really just wanted to keep playing defense and were finally able to get some stops and run-outs and created a little space, then just kind of maintained it from there.”

Last Friday, Thompson went off for 28 points and 7 rebounds in a loss to Owasso (16-3, 9-1) that was far closer than the final score.

The Sandites only trailed 24-23 at halftime and 40-31 to open the fourth quarter before the Rams finally pulled away behind 16 points from Jax Kerr and 20 from Jalen Montonati.

But on Tuesday they bounced back with a 65-55 Homecoming win over Enid (8-9, 4-5) to pay back a December loss.

Thompson scored 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists, followed by Kooper Kelly with 12 points and Evans with 12 points and 8 boards.

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday with a district home game against No. 4 Union (18-2, 10-1). They previously fell to the RedHawks 76-72 and 71-51 in January.

“We have a tough week ahead,” said Savage. “We’ve got our work cut out for us. We’ll go get some rest and try to put a good game plan together and just go compete.”

“Hopefully being home will maybe give us a little edge, but they’ve got some mountain guys down there and they can play both ways. They’re extremely athletic and we’ll just have to do our best to try and find a way to score with them.”

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.

Sandite Basketball Tips Off Tuesday at Home Against Edmond Memorial

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The Charles Page High School varsity basketball teams will tip off the season Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House in a district double-header against Edmond Memorial.

The varsity girls will play at 6:30 p.m. while the boys will play at 8:00 p.m.

The girls are in their fifth year under head coach Josh Berry, who holds a 68-30 record at Sand Springs and a 166-143 record overall.

The Lady Sandites went 18-9 overall last season and 9-5 in the final year of Frontier Valley Conference play. They ended their season in the Area consolation finals, one round short of the State tournament.

The girls graduated Fayth Walker and All-State selection Hailey Jackson, but return Sakauri Wilson, Taiona Morris, and Kiaryn Taylor, who are all receiving attention from college recruiters. Abigaile Martin, Calla Fueshko, and Patience Pearce are all impactful returners.

The Sandites also picked up a big-time transfer in Hope Bump, a junior star at Claremore who was an All-Conference second-team selection in the Metro Lakes who averaged 18 points and 9 boards last season.

The boys went 10-14 overall and 3-11 in FVC play under head coach Eric Savage, who holds a 123-121 record after ten seasons at Sand Springs and a 428-214 record overall.

The boys graduated Michael Foster, Jax Marshall, Kade Holland, Sam Hayes, and Luke Hooper, but will still return a talented lineup anchored by Alijah Roper, Kooper Kelly, Blake Johnson, and Khalil Allen.

Junior transfer Deke Thompson will be a high-profile addition from Jenks as an All-Conference Honorable Mention last season. Marcus Mitchell, Zane Fueshko, and Colin Shope all return a wealth of experience from last season.

The OSSAA shifted to district play this season, meaning the Sandites will say goodbye to old rivals like Sapulpa, Broken Arrow, Bixby, Muskogee, Booker T. Washington, and Jenks. Shockingly, the Highway 97 Rivalry is not on the schedule this season.

Edmond Memorial will be the first district opponent for the Sandites in the new era. The Bulldog boys went 12-11 last season while the girls were 22-5.

The Lady Sandites’ last meeting with the Bulldogs was a 50-46 victory in the Area consolation playoffs in 2021. If the boys have ever played Edmond Memorial, it was before Sandite Pride’s records.

Lady Sandites Beat Union and Owasso, Receive Regional Assignment

The Sand Springs girls’ basketball team should be battle tested and ready when the Regional playoffs arrive Thursday.

The 6A-East No. 6 Lady Sandites went 2-1 in a tough final week to the regular season, ending the year 16-7 overall and 9-5 in the tough Frontier Valley Conference.

“We’re a team that’s still learning every day,” said head coach Josh Berry. “We’re up and down, but hopefully we’re going to be going up over this next week, which I think we will.”

The Sandites were on upset alert Tuesday against No. 16 Union (5-18) on Senior Night but survived 48-43 behind a 23-point performance from Hailey Jackson.

On Thursday, however, they suffered a 58-30 drubbing at No. 1 Booker T. Washington (17-5) as the team struggled with a 20% field goal performance, their worst since a season opening loss at Sapulpa.

“The best thing is to see if you can come back and regroup the next night and play, and we were able to do that,” said Berry.

The Sandites stormed out to a 26-12 halftime lead at No. 7 Owasso (12-9) on Friday in a game that the Rams probably felt due to win. The first two meetings between Sand Springs and Owasso were decided by a total of three points, but the Sandites only trailed once in the rematch.

The visitors surrendered an uncontested opening bucket to Laila Hamilton, a senior who has missed the entire season to injury. The senior tapped in the final bucket of her career and exited the game to applause, and fortunately the Sandites’ charity didn’t come back to haunt them.

After taking their biggest lead of the game at 29-12 to open the third, the Sandites suddenly found themselves on the ropes after Owasso used a 16-2 swing to make it a one-score game entering the fourth.

“(Thursday) we might have lost this game, but today they stayed together, they kept their composure, and they found a way to win, and that’s the most important part,” said Berry.

Jackson broke the Rams’ momentum with a three-point play to open the fourth and scored seven of her 15 points in the final stanza to secure the team’s 11th consecutive win against Owasso.

Jackson’s 15 led all scorers, while Sakauri Wilson added 11 and Taionna Morris had 10.

“We played a few tough teams this past six games,” said Berry. “I think that we did well, we held ourselves well. I’m proud of them for the season that we had but now everybody’s 0-0 and let’s just go see what happens.”

Sand Springs will travel to Norman Thursday for a first-round Regional playoff against No. 11 Stillwater (8-15) at 6:00 p.m.

No. 7 Norman (17-4) will host No. 14 Muskogee (6-15) in the other semifinal. The finals will be Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

“We’re going to need a lot of people to pitch in,” said Berry.

“We always say ‘I don’t know how we’re going to win, but however it is that night, just be ready. It might be your night, it might be somebody else’s night. Just be ready.’”

Boys

The 6A-East No. 11 Sand Springs boys (10-13) suffered a tough final week to the regular season, falling 66-37 to No. 8 Union (12-10) on Tuesday, 86-69 to No. 4 Booker T. Washington (12-8) on Thursday, and 57-34 to No. 5 Owasso (13-8) on Friday.

The Sandites led Union 22-20 at halftime on Senior Night but the RedHawks got hot in the third quarter for a 42-35 lead before starting the fourth on a 19-0 run. Michael Foster, Alijah Roper, and Kade Holland scored 8 apiece.

Thursday was a similar affair as the Sandites led the Hornets 36-34 late in the second quarter before Washington went on a 12-0 run to enter the half with a double-digit advantage that it never relinquished. Kooper Kelly scored 16, Holland 12, and Khalil Allen had 10.

On Owasso’s Senior Night the Rams jumped out to a 19-2 first-quarter lead and never trailed. Blake Johnson, Zane Fueshko, and Sam Hayes scored 6 apiece to lead the Sandites.

The boys ended the season with a 3-11 record in conference action, an improvement over the past two one-win seasons in the brutally tough Frontier Valley.

Sand Springs will return to action Friday at the Bixby Regionals with a first-round elimination game against No. 6 Moore (16-6).

Luke Hooper Has Career Night in 60-33 Verdigris Rout

Luke Hooper didn’t play basketball his junior year but he shook off any lingering rust Saturday afternoon in the Port City Classic consolation finals.

The 6-foot-4 power forward hit his stride for a career-best 12 points and 9 rebounds to lead Sand Springs (8-7) in a 60-33 romp against Verdigris (10-7) for fifth place in the Catoosa tournament.

“You don’t realize how much it can slip away from you, just getting back into basketball shape and timing,” said head coach Eric Savage.

“He’s a big body and does a good job rebounding. If we can get him scoring on offense like he was able to today then it’s really going to help us.”

The Sandites suffered a 69-61 loss to 4A No. 16 Catoosa (11-4) in the first round to cap a four-game losing streak, but snapped back with a 66-48 win over 5A No. 16 Claremore (8-7) in Friday’s consolation semifinals.

“We went through a tough stretch right there in a conference that’s arguably very tough,” said Savage.

Sand Springs lost conference games against Union and Owasso the prior week, and fell 72-50 to Jenks on Tuesday. Now back above .500, the Sandites will be looking to ride some momentum into their next week’s conference games.

“I think it does a lot for the players’ confidence and our team to be able to experience some success,” said Savage.

“I wish we would’ve got three (wins) this weekend, but to finish on two wins - hopefully we can build on that”

Several Sandites had notable performances on the weekend. Alijah Roper and Micahel Foster scored 13 apiece in the loss to Catoosa and Kade Holland had a career-best 12. Blake Johnson was a bucket shy of a double-double with 8 points and 11 boards.

“We’re getting better and guys are stepping up and realizing they can make plays during games,” said Savage. “We’re getting some maturity and growth out of those sophomores.”

The sophomores being Kooper Kelly, Zane Fueshko, Khalil Allen, and Johnson.

Foster led the team with 14 against Claremore and Roper added 10. Against Verdigris, Roper and Kelly had 10 apiece, Allen added 9, and Foster had 8 points and 10 rebounds.

In Tuesday’s game against Jenks it was Kelly with 11 and Allen with 10 to lead the team.

“Alijah’s been playing a lot better and he’s been really consistent for us this year - probably our most consistent,” said Savage. “We need Alijah playing like he played this tournament.”

“I think by the end of January, going into February, I’m hoping we’ll be hitting our stride and playing our best basketball.”

The Sandites will return to action Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. with a road game at No. 9 Booker T. Washington (9-4, 4-2) followed by a home battle against No. 1 Broken Arrow (14-0, 6-0) on Friday.

Girls

For only the second time this season, Hailey Jackson didn’t lead her team in scoring against No. 9 Jenks (9-4, 4-2) on Tuesday.

It wasn’t because she had an off-night - it was because her entire team was on fire.

Five Lady Sandites scored in double digits, each with impressive stat lines, in a 67-43 win that was arguably the best performance of the season for No. 10 Sand Springs (11-4, 4-2).

Freshman Calla Fueshko led her team with a career-high 16 points, going 4-of-6 from three-point range before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.

Sand Springs actually trailed 20-14 after the first quarter but Fueshko and Taiona Morris opened the second with a trio of treys to go up 23-20 and never relinquished the lead.

By halftime the home team led 37-29 and they used a 14-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to put the game to bed.

Jackson scored 15 points with 6 boards; Sakauri Wilson had 13 points, 3 steals, and 5 assists; Kiaryn Taylor had 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals; and Morris had 10 points with 6 boards, 3 steals, and 5 assists.

Jill Twiehaus led all scorers with 21 points for Jenks, but was held to only 4 in the second half.

Sand Springs will take to the road Tuesday against No. 4 Booker T. Washington (13-2, 5-1) before hosting No. 13 Broken Arrow (10-5, 4-2) on Friday.

Sandites Throttle OKC Knights 72-29 at Memorial Invitational

Happy Birthday Kade Holland. The senior starter scored 9 points with 4 rebounds in a 72-29 win against the Oklahoma City Knights (3-9) Thursday night.

The last time Sand Springs played an Oklahoma City homeschool team, they suffered a 68-48 upset, but this year’s Sandites wouldn’t be caught sleeping,

After giving No. 10 Bixby a scare on Tuesday, the Sandites (2-2) showed up at Memorial High School with extra motivation Thursday night in the first round of the Veterans Arena Invitational.

“I thought we had big strides against Bixby at home on Tuesday night,” said head coach Eric Savage.

“Hopefully, I thought coming into here, is we carry some of that momentum and try to keep gaining experience and develop a little more depth.”

“Obviously we’d like to have a couple of more wins in there, but we’re getting better,” said Savage.

Thirteen Sandites saw game time and all but one made their way into the scorebook.

Sophomore Blake Johnson had a career night with 15 points and 9 boards before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.

“Blake has had a good week,” said Savage. “He had a good JV game Tuesday night too (scoring 19 points).”

“We thought playing JV would help some of these younger guys get some confidence and he’s turned it up another level this week so that’s good to see.”

Caden Coombs gave the Knights a brief lead with 2:01 left in the first quarter but the Sandites went on an 8-point run and never trailed again.

Jax Marshall fed an assist inside to Sam Hayes on the next possession to make it 12-11 then stole the ball and scored the go-ahead free throws on a foul from Isaiah Zoschke.

Sand Springs ran away with it in the second quarter, taking a 40-23 lead with 10 players in the scorebook by halftime.

“We’re working hard and we’re showing improvement,” said Savage. “(It’s a) really young team experience wise and age wise.”

The Sandites only returned one starter from last year’s unit and only started two seniors against the Knights.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who it’s their first time seeing significant varsity action and they’re going to go through some growing pains,” said Savage.

The second half was a 32-6 rout with the Knights only scoring on free throws.

Kooper Kelly scored 10 for the Sandites, followed by Zane Fueshko and Holland with 9 apiece. Coombs led all scorers with 17.

Sand Springs will return to action Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Tulsa NOAH (5-4). The Knights will play 5A No. 16 Collinsville (2-3) at 6:00.

Memorial 54, NOAH 31

The NOAH Jaguars made a game of it but ultimately succumbed to 5A No. 2 Memorial (4-1) Thursday night at the Chargers’ home tournament.

After hanging tight for three quarters, the Jaguars were outscored 20-8 in the final stanza of a 54-31 loss.

Jarreth Ingram set the tone early, scoring 7 of his game-best 15 points in the first quarter and the Jaguars never once led.

Montae Collins ended the opening period with a steal and a buzzer-beating floater to go up 16-4 but the Jaguars cut it to 25-15 by halftime.

Ben Radford got hot in the fourth quarter with 7 of his 9 points and the Chargers bullied their way to the win.

Collins ended with 13 for the Chargers and Seth Pratt added 10. Sullivan Wagner scored 14 for NOAH.

Memorial will play Greenwood, Arkansas (1-5) Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Scoring Summaries

CPHS 72, OKC 29
CPHS;15;25;13;19;--;72
OKC;12;9;2;4;--;29

CPHS: Johnson 15, Kelly 10, Holland 9, Fueshko 9, Hayes 9, Hooper 4, Allen 4, Roper 3, Shope 3, Michell 2, Foster 2, Marshall 2.
OKC: Coombs 17, Ledet 6, Skelly 4, Chiarello 2.

Memorial 54 NOAH 31
Memorial;16;9;9;20;--;54
NOAH;4;11;8;8;--;31

Memorial: Ingram 15, Collins 13, Pratt 11, Radford 9, Cotton 6.
NOAH: Wagner 14, Bell 7, Ross 4, Garner 3, Bockett 2, Hislop 1.