Sandites Roll OKC Storm 69-47 Behind Thompson's 20

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On Tuesday night, Sand Springs boys basketball coach Eric Savage said he thought the Oklahoma City Storm (0-7) would be the toughest team that the Sandites would play at the Tulsa Memorial Veterans Arena Invitational.

If he’s right, then it should be an easy weekend for the Sandites, who pummeled OKC 69-47 in Thursday’s opener.

Sand Springs (2-3) jumped out to an 8-0 lead behind three pointers from Deke Thompson III and Kooper Kelly and never once trailed, maintaining a double-digit lead for most of the evening.

Kason Evans scored three buckets in the final two minutes of the first quarter to take a 16-6 lead.

A five-point run from Corbin Hamilton cut the gap to 18-11, but Thompson responded with a pair of treys and a dunk to double up on the Storm at 26-13.

Sand Springs took a 31-19 lead into the locker room and led 43-33 after three quarters. The Storm cut things as close as 43-37 to open the fourth before the Sandites finally ran away with things.

A pair of layups from Evans sparked a 17-2 run and the Sandites led by as much as 66-42 late in the game.

Thompson led all scorers with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, followed by Evans with 15 points and 7 rebounds. 12 of the Sandites’ 15 players saw action and 8 made their way into the scorebook.

Ayomide Adenle-Pinder led OKC with 13 points, followed by Hamilton with 12.

Sand Springs will return to action Friday night at 7:30 p.m. against Crossover Prep (6-5). OKC will look for its first win of the season Saturday at 12:30 p.m. against Collinsville (4-0).

CPHS 69 OKC 47

1Q: CPHS 16-6.
2Q: CPHS 15-13.
3Q: OKC 14-12.
4Q: CPHS 26-14.
Free Throws: CPHS 12-of-17, OKC 4-of-6.
Field Goals: CPHS 25-of-61, OKC 19-of-56.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 17, OKC 11.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 21, OKC 14.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 38, OKC 25.
Steals: CPHS 8, OKC 9.
Blocks: CPHS 3, OKC 6.
Fouls: CPHS 14, OKC 13.

Sand Springs Statistics

Points: Thompson 20, Evans 15, Kelly 8, Shope 7, Johnson 6, Fueshko 6, Allen 5, Young 2.
Offensive Rebounds: Johnson 6, Evans 5, Thompson 3, Allen 2, Fueshko 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Kelly 6, Thompson 4, Allen 3, Mitchell 3, Evans 2, Roper 1, Young 1, Shope 1.
Total Rebounds: Thompson 7, Evans 7, Johnson 6, Kelly 6, Allen 5, Mitchell 3, Roper 1, Fueshko 1, Young 1, Shope 1.
Steals: Mitchell 2, Roper 1, Thompson 1, Allen 1, Johnson 1, Young 1, Shope 1.
Assists: Kelly 3, Thompson 3, Johnson 2, Roper 1, Evans 1, Fueshko 1.
Blocks: Allen 2, Roper 1.
Fouls: Fueshko 3, Allen 2, Johnson 2, Evans 2, Roper 1, Kelly 1, Thompson 1, Fueshko 1, Shope 1.

OKC Statistics

Points: Adenle-Pinder 13, Hamilton 12, Sejour 6, Sykes 6, Harland 3, Edens 3, Steele 2, Farrington 2.
Fouls: Sejour 2, Farrington 2, Sykes 2, Mills 2, Hamilton 1, Harland 1, Steele 1, Edens 1, Eichman 1.

Freshmen Tianna Butler and Aaliyah Simone Lead Sandites to Win over Putnam City

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One of the biggest strengths for the Sand Springs girls basketball team coming into this season was its depth of size and talent.

That depth was on full display Tuesday night as No. 7 Charles Page High School (5-2, 3-1) rolled to a 68-51 district victory over Putnam City (4-3) despite being down two starters.

“Coming into this year I thought we had quite a bit of depth,” said head coach Josh Berry. “I didn’t want to test that, but that’s where we are right now.”

With Abigail Martin and Kiaryn Taylor on crutches, Hope Bump waiting on OSSAA clearance, Calla Fueshko still recovering from an ACL tear last season, and Sakauri Wilson out till the new year, it was the underclassmen’s time to shine.

The freshman class combined for 45 points and 31 rebounds, led by an astounding double-double from Tianna Butler with 22 points and 18 rebounds.

“That’s a good deal for her to have that coming into the break,” said Berry. “I think she’s got more in her personally. I’m going to expect more out of her. I think the sky’s the limit. She’s got to go and keep playing harder and keep making plays.”

Aaliyah Simone also had a career night with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals, while Neveah Garrison scored 4 points and Kadynce Young scored 2 on the first possession of her career.

“We’ve got a long ways to go,” said Berry. “We’ve got to get some of those freshmen up to speed, but they did a good job making plays and the end of the day it’s about making more plays than the other team and tonight I think we did that.”

Simone scored a layup and a trey to open the game and ensured the Sandites would never trail. Butler added a three-pointer soon after and was 4-of-6 on the evening, showing she’s as much of an outside shooting threat as she is an inside big.

The Pirates opened the second quarter on a 4-0 run to cut it to 15-11 but Yonni Morris went off for eight points in the quarter and the Sandites took a 31-20 lead into halftime.

Putnam City only got within double digits once in the second half, on a free-throw from Kayla Hill at 38-29, but the Sandites went on a 10-2 run and entered the fourth up 48-34.

Butler’s final bucket off the night gave the Sandites their biggest lead at 63-40 midway through the final stanza.

“Kadynce did a great job…scored on her first possession, applied some great pressure for us,” said Berry.

“Neveah did some great things off the bench as far as just walling up and making it hard for them when they were driving. They were getting anything they wanted to early on. I thought she kind of helped set that tone along with Jordan (Gilton).”

Morris put together her sixth consecutive double-digit game with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 6 assists. Tayja Butler also had a strong performance with a career-best 8 points and 4 boards.

“We’ve got a lot of different people that can score the basketball in many different ways,” said Berry. “We’ve just got to find ways for them to do that and be efficient with it. As long as we can do that, I think we’ve got a chance to continue to grow.”

Sand Springs will take the rest of 2023 off before returning to action at the Putnam City Invitational on January 4th.

“That’s a good deal with us missing so many people,” said Berry. “It gives us time not only to rest up but to practice. We’re going to have to play a way different style and we’re just going to have to figure that out over the month.”

Kayla Hill led the Pirates with 22 points, followed by Destinee Hunt with 12. The Pirates will host No. 4 Owasso (6-1, 3-1) on Tuesday to conclude the year.

CPHS 68 PCO 51

1Q: CPHS 15-7.
2Q: CPHS 16-13.
3Q: CPHS 17-14.
4Q: CPHS 20-17.
Free Throws: CPHS 10-of-12, PCO 15-of-24.
Field Goals: CPHS 25-of-59, PCO 17-of-76.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 14, PCO 16.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 33, PCO 18.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 47, PCO 24.
Steals: CPHS 6, PCO 14.
Blocks: CPHS 6, PCO 5.
Fouls: CPHS 19, PCO 15.

Sand Springs Statistics

Points: Ti. Butler 22, Simone 17, Morris 15, Ta. Butler 8, Garrison 4, Young 2.
Offensive Rebounds: Ti. Butler 3, Simone 3, Young 3, Garrison 2, Morris 1, Ta. Butler 1, Gilton 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Ti. Butler 15, Morris 5, Gilton 4, Ta. Butler 3, Garrison 2, Simone 2, Pearce 1, Young 1.
Total Rebounds: Ti. Butler 18, Morris 6, Simone 5, Gilton 5, Ta. Butler 4, Young 4, Garrison 4, Pearce 1.
Steals: Simone 3, Morris 2, Gilton 1.
Assists: Morris 6, Young 2, Ti. Butler 1.
Blocks: Ti. Butler 4, Morris 1, Garrison 1.
Fouls: Ta. Butler 3, Ti. Butler 3, Simone 3, Pearce 3, Gilton 3, Garrison 2, Morris 2.

Putnam City Statistics

Points: Hill 22, Hunt 12, Wright 9, Young 4, Booker 2, Aze 2.
Fouls: Booker 4, Young 4, Hunt 3, Hill 2, Williams 1, Aze 1.

Deke Thompson Leads Sandites to First Win of the Season

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The return of Blake Johnson from injury combined with a 7-of-9 first-half shooting performance from Deke Thompson III helped the Sand Springs boys basketball team coast to a dominant 71-56 win against Putnam City (3-4, 2-2) Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

It was the first win of the season for Sand Springs (1-3, 1-3), who started the year with a tough district slate and lost its starting power forward to a concussion in the very first game.

“We had a week to prepare after those three hard games and we knew we had to come out with some emotion and intensity,” said head coach Eric Savage.

The Sandites never once trailed, going on an 11-2 run to end the first quarter up 22-10 and by halftime they led 41-23.

“Defense was really good in the first half,” said Savage. “That kind of set the tone early. We kind of coasted and traded buckets in the second half.”

“When you’re up and can hold a double-digit lead, we’ll take that.”

The Sandites built their dominant lead behind Thompson, who scored a season-high 24 points with five three-pointers.

“He showed his shooting ability,” said Savage. “Same thing with him and Kason (Evans), they’re both getting more comfortable shooting. He’s a talent shooting the ball. When he gets going, he can score in bunches.”

Thompson and JaColby Williams traded treys to open the game, then Johnson scored three buckets in a row to make it 9-3 and the Pirates never tied it again.

Johnson scored all 8 of his points in the first quarter and ended the night with 3 assists, 1 rebound, and 1 steal despite seeing limited action for the rest of the game.

“Blake does all the little things that maybe don’t show up on the stat sheets all the time,” said Savage. “He’s kind of our glue guy. Everything moves a lot better when he’s in the game".”

Putnam held closer in the second half, only losing the third quarter 11-10, and won the fourth quarter 23-19, but never got within 10 points of the home team, even as the Sandites went 12 deep on the bench.

Fouls were a big difference maker as the Sandites had a season-low 13 penalties and none of their players got in trouble till late in the game.

Evans had a season-best performance with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Sandites’ first double-double of the year.

Kooper Kelly added 11 points and Alijah Roper had 10 to put four Sandites in double digits.

Sand Springs will return to action Thursday at the Tulsa Memorial Veterans Arena Invitational against the OKC Storm (0-5) at 4:30 p.m.

Putnam City will host No. 3 Owasso (6-1, 4-0) next Tuesday at 8:00 p.m.

CPHS 71 PCO 56

1Q: CPHS 22-10.
2Q: CPHS 19-13.
3Q: CPHS 11-10.
4Q: PCO 23-19.
Free Throws: CPHS 16-of-23, PCO 8-of-14.
Field Goals: CPHS 24-of-47, PCO 21-of-45.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 9, PCO 5.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 20, PCO 15.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 29, PCO 20.
Steals: CPHS 4, PCO 5.
Blocks: CPHS 4, PCO 1.
Fouls: CPHS 13, PCO 18.

Sand Springs Statistics

Points: Thompson 24, Evans 14, Kelly 11, Roper 10, Johnson 8, Allen 4.
Offensive Rebounds: Evans 4, Allen 3, Thompson 1, Kelly 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Evans 6, Kelly 4, Thompson 3, Roper 2, Fueshko 2, Mitchell 1, Johnson 1, Allen 1.
Total Rebounds: Evans 10, Kelly 5, Allen 4, Thompson 4, Roper 2, Fueshko 2, Mitchell 1, Johnson 1.
Steals: Kelly 1, Johnson 1, Fueshko 1, Young 1.
Assists: Roper 4, Johnson 3, Thompson 2, Fueshko 2, Kelly 1.
Blocks: Kelly 1, Thompson 1, Evans 1, Allen 1.
Fouls: Kelly 4, Thompson 2, Allen 2, Evans 2, Johnson 1, Fueshko 1, Young 1.

Putnam City Statistics

Points: Thompson 21, Williams 13, Stephens 12, Osborne 6, Locke 4.
Fouls: Perry 3, Thompson 3, Osborne 3, Williams 2, Denson 2, Stephens 2, Lloyd 2, Locke 1.

Lady Sandites Enjoying Successful Inaugural Dual Season

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The Charles Page High School girls wrestling team (3-1) is enjoying a successful first dual season and picked up its third win of the season Tuesday night, 42-30 against Claremore a dual that came down to the final match.

Bailey Copeland, Ambrielle Chambers, and Laila Mirza all pinned their opponents to help the Lady Sandites bounce back from a 42-30 loss at 5A No. 12 Skiatook (2-0) last week.

Sand Springs wrestled two duals at Skiatook last Tuesday, winning 60-24 against Glenpool (1-3) before falling to the Bulldogs.

Copeland, Mirza, and Tessa Urrey pinned their opponents in the Glenpool dual.

Kenzie Johnson and Kelsi Hilton secured pins against Skiatook while Mirza recorded a 14-1 major decision.

The Lady Sandites will return to action Thursday at 6:00 p.m. in the first-ever Highway 97 Rivalry dual at No. 14 Sapulpa.

Zander Grigsby Wins Mid America Nationals, Sandites Beat Claremore in Dual

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The No. 9 ranked Charles Page High School boys’ wrestling team improved to 3-0 on the season Tuesday evening with a 40-24 win over 5A No. 6 Claremore (3-2) at Clyde Boyd Middle School.

The Sandites trailed through the first six matches before Jesse Moore (3-0) pinned Alex Miller at 144 pounds to tie it up at 15-15.

Claremore jumped out to a 6-0 lead with a forfeit at 106. Ayreson Reiss (3-0) got the Sandites on the board with a 6-1 decision over Paul Perez, but the visitors won the next three matches.

Kale Shultz won 5-3 in overtime against Caden Rodriguez and returning State qualifier Mason Gillispie won 12-5 against Hunter Spencer. Both Sandites were making their varsity debuts.

Jaxon Grigsby (7-3) suffered a 6-3 decision at the hands of returning State qualifier Maddox Jackson for the Zebras’ biggest lead at 15-3.

Kasen McAffrey made his freshman debut with a pin of Mikey Robertson to kick off the rally at 138.

Preston Reyna (8-2) followed up Moore’s pin with a 14-5 major decision against Kaiden Soaz and the Sandites held the lead from then on.

Isaac Sensintaffar (5-2) pinned Jackson Roach in 1:52 to make it 25-15, but Brody Ensten (6-3) was pinned by returning State placer Cooper Zigafues to keep things close.

Finally, Jaxon Trotter (9-2) pinned Silas Taylor in 57 seconds and Peyton Callis (9-2) pinned Micah Duncan in five seconds to clinch the dual victory.

Claremore won one last match in a 3-1 decision by returning State qualifier Cameron Braswell against Ali McCoy (5-5) but Mason Harris (9-1) capped the night off with a 2-0 defeat of Josh Feliciano.

Next up on the Sandites’ schedule is a Highway 97 Rivalry match at 5A No. 14 Sapulpa (0-1) Thursday at 6:00 p.m.

Sand Springs wrestled its first tournament over the weekend and Zander Grigsby (9-0) led the Sandites to a seventh place finish at the Mid America Nationals in Enid.

Grigsby pinned his first pool opponent, then won a 9-0 major decision against returning State qualifier Walker Johnson of Harrah.

In the championship bracket he pinned his first opponent before eking out a 3-0 decision against Marlow State Champion Cade Gilbert.

In the semifinals he won an 11-0 major decision against Texas State Champion Tanner Casaubon and in the finals he won a 5-1 decision against Guthrie State qualifier Bryson Hall.

Grigsby outscored his opponents 42-2 over the tournament.

Harris was runner-up at heavyweight, pinning his first four opponents in the first period. He won a 2-0 decision over Guthrie State qualifier Nic Herendeen and a 1-0 decision against Piedmont State qualifier Jesse Knapp before falling to Kansas State Champion Brett Carroll.

Kase Skaggs (9-1) took fifth place at 120 pounds with wins over three State qualifiers. His only loss came to two-time Texas State Champion Isaak Arevalo in the quarterfinals and he bounced back with three straight decisions. In the placement round he won 4-3 against USAWKS State Champion Talon Verbeck.

Callis placed fifth at 190, only losing two matches to a pair of State qualifiers. In the placement round he won a 7-3 decision against Texas State placer Ryan Rainey from Arlington-Martin.

Trotter placed ninth at 175, pinning his first five opponents before falling 10-3 and 4-3 to a pair of State finalists. He bounced back with a 18-1 technical fall against Salina State qualifier Jyce Glass and a 35-second pin of Collinsville’s Sean Ross.

Matthew Moore (7-4) placed 10th at 132 with a 5-4 record. He won his first three matches before falling to a pair of State finalists. He won two matches in the Championship bracket, losing only to returning State qualifiers.

Jayden Pait (6-0) placed 12th at 138, winning his first four matches before medical forfeiting the rest of the tournament. He pinned his first two opponents before winning a pair of decisions against two State qualifiers.

Hudson Sheppard (5-2) placed 12th at 175, easily winning his pool before falling 7-2 to Harrah’s Zylan Johnson. He won his next match 7-3 against Texas State qualifier Boede Gibson but medical forfeited his remaining matches.

McCoy placed 15th at 215 pounds with three pins. In the placement round he pinned Jay’s Bryce McGhee in 1:40.

Jaxon Grigsby placed 17th at 126, going 5-2 with four pins, beating Marlow’s Harris Brennan 8-0 in the placement match. Both of his losses came to returning State qualifiers during pool play, relegating him to the consolation bracket where he dominated the field, outscoring his opponents 34-1.

Reyna placed 17th at 144, losing his first two matches before bouncing back with a technical fall and five consecutive wins to top the consolation bracket. Over his final five matches he outscored his opponents 38-0 with three pins, including a 26-second victory in the finals.

Sensintaffar placed 17th at 150, losing his first two matches before winning his next four, including three pins with a 36-second finals victory.

Ensten placed 17th at 157, going 1-2 in pool play before winning out in the consolation bracket with three total pins in the tournament.

Jaden Allen (4-4) placed 22nd at 190 with four pins.

The Sandites finished in seventh place with 320 points despite voiding the 106 and 113 weight classes.

As a non-scoring wrestler, Colt Hood took 13th place at 120 with a 4-3 record and four pins, winning his placement match by fall against Watonga’s Dakota Cox. Two of his three losses came to defending State Champions.

6A Week 2 Basketball Rankings

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Girls

  1. Edmond North (3-0)

  2. Putnam City West (4-0)

  3. Putnam City North (5-1)

  4. Owasso (5-1)

  5. Edmond Memorial (2-1)

  6. Bixby (2-0)

  7. Sand Springs (4-1)

  8. Choctaw (4-0)

  9. Broken Arrow (2-2)

  10. Edmond Santa Fe (3-3)

  11. Norman (3-3)

  12. Norman North (2-3)

  13. Yukon (3-3)

  14. Mustang (4-2)

  15. Westmoore (3-1)

Boys

  1. Edmond North (3-0)

  2. Deer Creek (5-1)

  3. Owasso (4-0)

  4. Broken Arrow (4-0)

  5. Piedmont (5-0)

  6. Choctaw (4-0)

  7. Bixby (4-1)

  8. Putnam City West (3-1)

  9. Union (4-0)

  10. Edmond Santa Fe (5-1)

  11. Norman (4-2)

  12. Moore (4-2)

  13. Edmond Memorial (4-1)

  14. Mustang (4-2)

  15. Norman North (3-2)