Boys Fall Short In Regionals Final But Advance To Area

     Tonight was the final round of the Region 4 playoffs as the Sandites traveled to Owasso to take on the Goliath Rams, Frontier Valley Champions and 4th ranked team in Oklahoma. The Sandites were just here last night when they defeated the Edmond North Huskies in a nail biter 59-55 game that sealed them their second consecutive trip to Area. The Sandites started the season on fire but lost their steam half way through and ran a seven game losing streak before breaking it against the Huskies. Simply getting this far was something to be proud of, but the Sandites didn’t count themselves out and showed up ready to play their hardest.

The Sandites started Colt Savage, Evan Perry, Arvionte Nichols, Brooks Haddock and Kyle Keener. The Rams won the jump ball to start the game and quickly took the lead with a two point field goal. Keener was the first Sandite to take a shot at the basket, but missed on a two point goal. Haddock was next and sank a two point jump shot, tying things up briefly before the Rams took the lead again with a pair of three pointers.

Savage was next up with a two point jump shot. The Rams tried to strike next but missed and Haddock took the rebound, getting it to Perry for a layup. 8-6. Nichols was next to snag a defensive rebound and ran it down court for a fouled layup attempt, but sank both of his free throws and tied the game up at 8.

Despite great defense, the Sandites missed too many field goals and gave up too many turnovers as the Rams pulled ahead to 20-10 at the buzzer.

The Sandites performed much better in the second period and were right behind the Rams in scoring, 11-9. Haddock missed a three to start the period, but Taber snagged a fumbled ball and the Sandites turn it into a drive resulting in a ½ performance on free throws by Savage. Keener got a block on a two pointer but it turned into a jump ball that the rams got and sank for two. Haddock got stripped running for a layup, then managed a steal and got it to perry who missed a two. Keener got another block but once again the Rams recover and sink it. 24-11.

Keener missed a two but Savage and Taber shared a rebound and got it to Haddock who missed a three. Mack Thompson was the next to get a block, Perry snagged it, passed to Savage for a three point field goal. The Sandites ended the half with a series of three free throws by Savage, ending it 31-19.

The Rams started the third period scoring with a layup. Haddock brought the ball up court and passed to Savage who sent it back to Haddock who shoots and misses a three, but Savage is right there for the rebound and passes it to Nichols for two.

Here’s where the bogus fouls came out to play in some of the most lopsided foul-calling I’ve seen all season. Thompson nailed a three point jump shot, then Haddock got a defensive rebound on the Rams’ next drive that resulted in a missed two point field goal by Thompson. The Rams rebounded but turned it right back over to the Sandites on a traveling call, followed by a traveling call on the Sandites. The Rams got on the board next with a series of free throws handed to them by garbage calls.

Perry missed a two that the Rams rebounded, but Savage got a steal and passed it to Paul Oates to Taber to Savage who missed a three. Thompson got a pass off to Keener for two, but by now the Rams led 50-26 and would end the period with a 52-26 lead going into the fourth.

The fourth had more fouls than I’ve ever seen in a half, let alone a period. The Sandites failed to find any steam at the beginning of the fourth and finally the second string went in to stir things up. Bryce Dunlap got a free throw, Jake Ward sank a three, Taber got a steal and was fouled on his layup attempt and shot one for two on free throws. The refs call a foul on Taber and ejected him, even though he was nowhere near where the foul that was actually committed by Desjarlais took place. It wasn’t till after the Rams scored that they acknowledged their mistake that everyone was yelling at them about and allowed him to come back in.

Dunlap got on the board again with a two. Ward showed off some great defensive coverage. Taber got a two point field goal before leaving the game. Josh Taber went in for the first time since a hand injury earlier this season. He quickly got on the board with a steal and field goal, then was fouled on a layup and shot one for two. Ward got off another three with less than a minute to play. Blake Shockley was next to go in and missed a three that Ward rebounded and sank. Ward then fouled a Ram with 1.1 left to play. The Rams missed both free throws and Shockley got the rebound and chunked it at the basket but just fell short. The final score was 65-46 Rams.

Colt Savage had a team high 10 points, shooting 5/7 on free throws.

Jake Ward had 8 points.

Arvionte Nichols had 5 points and shot ¾ on free throws.

Jacob Taber had 6 points and shot 2/4 on free throws.

Kyle Keener had 4 points.

Josh Taber had 3 points and shot ½ on free throws.

Mack Thompson had 3 points.

Bryce Dunlap had 3 points and shot ½ on free throws.

Evan Perry had 2 points.

Brooks Haddock had 2 points.

The boys will next take on Booker T Washington at 8PM at Memorial at Area.

The girls will next take on the Owasso Rams on Thursday at Will Rogers at 8PM at Area.

Sandites Pull Out Win In Regionals

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief     

It was a great night for the Sand Springs Sandites as they sealed their spot in Area with a playoff win in the first round of regionals. The Sandites took on Edmond North at Owasso tonight in a back and forth game that at times seemed a sure-win and others seemed like anybody’s game.

The Huskies took the lead again with another two point field goal, but Perry was right behind them dropping a three for a 5-4 lead. Keener sank another two, despite a foul, then sank his free throw taking us to an 8-4 lead. Haddock, Nichols, and Jacob Taber also got on the scoreboard in the first period in a back and forth period that the Sandites pulled to a slight 17-11 lead in.

The second period was a lot closer as Edmond outscored us 22-12 and took a 33-29 lead after previously trailing by as many as ten points. Perry, Keener, Nichols, and Savage all got on the board in the second period.

The second half was a lot more intense as the Sandites played catch-up with the Huskies. Keener struck first with a two point field goal, but Edmond was right behind him sinking a three. Edmond increased their lead to 44-31 before the Sandites found their momentum. Haddock was fouled on a layup and sank both of his three throw, then Keener sank a two, getting us back within ten digits of the Huskies. Edmond scored a two pointer next, but Mack Thompson sank a three for his first goal of the night, then Keener and Nichols narrowed it to 49-42. Haddock stole the ball and it ended up with Taber for two, then Perry struck with a three for the last goal of the third period as the Sandites trailed by a close 49-47.

Edmond got out to an early lead in the fourth, racking it up to 53-47. Taber managed a two point field goal, but Edmond ran it back up to an 8 point lead less than two minutes in. Then the Sandites rallied. Savage, Thompson, and Haddock scored an unanswered 9 points taking a short lead before the Huskies got a field goal and the game was a tight 60-59 with only three minutes left. Edmond got up to 63, but Haddock was right behind with a pair of three pointers, taking a short lived lead before Edmond tied it up at 65 with 1:13 left. Evan Perry broke the tie with a two pointer, then it was a mad scramble to prevent Edmond from scoring in the final minute. The Sandites got a turnover and were just trying to hold on to the ball till the clock ran out, when the Huskies fouled Colt Savage with 7 seconds left and he was able to put the icing on the cake with a pair of free throws that handed the Sandites a 69-65 win and a ticket to Area.

The Sandites will take on the Owasso Rams tomorrow in the Regional Championship game, but both teams will advance to Area.

Individual scores are as follows

Brooks Haddock with 17 points, 4/4 on free throws.

Kyle Keener with 14 points, 6/7 on free throws.

Colt Savage with 11 points, 3/3 on free throws.

Evan Perry with 10 points.

Jacob Taber with 6 points.

Arvionte Nichols with 6 points.

Mack Thompson with 5 points.

                The Lady Sandites lost their regional game against Sapulpa 72-38 tonight, but won their first regional game against Bartlesville so they too will be going to Area. They will take on the loser of tomorrow’s game between Midwest City and Owasso on Thursday, March 5th at 8:00 at Will Rogers.

 Colt Savage, Evan Perry, Arvionte Nichols, Brooks Haddock, and Kyle Keener started for the Sandites tonight. Edmond won tip off and struck first, taking a 2-0 lead. Minutes later, Kyle Keener was fouled on a layup and sank both of his free throws tying the game up.

Third Time Was NOT The Charm For Lady Bruins

                The Lady Sandites have had a solid season this year, going 11-10 in the regular season, their first winning season since 2010-2011.  Earlier in the season they defeated the Lady Bruins 47-41 at home, then beat them again 51-48 in a nail bitter at Bartlesville. Despite beating them twice and having a better record, the Sandites were ranked far below the 11-12 Bruins. The Sandites were ranked 18th in 6A by the OSSAA whereas the Bruins were ranked 15th. MaxPreps ranked the Sandites 153rd in the State and 4950 in the nation, as opposed to the Bruins’ ranking of 116 in the state and 3493 in the nation. Tonight the girls proved those rankings wrong.

The starting lineup for the Sandites was Junior Lauren Foster, Sophomore Sydney Pennington, Junior CJ Scott, Senior Morgan Pennington, and Freshman Gloria Mutiri.

The Bruins won tip off but didn’t have much time to do anything as the ball was promptly picked off by Sydney Pennington. The Sandites got on the board first with a 2-point field goal from Foster.

Sand Springs burned their first timeout with 6:54 left on the clock and Jessica Collins checked in. The Bruins got on the board and tied it up at 2-2. Gloria took a shot for 2 on the next drive but missed. The rebound was picked off by Collins who gave the Sandites a 4-2 lead. That lead didn’t last long, however, as the Bruins quickly tied it up again. Foster was next to score for the Sandites, giving us a 6-4 lead.

Morgan took a shot at a three pointer but missed. Gloria grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled by a Bruin. Gloria sank her first free throw but missed the second which was rebounded by Sydney for a two point goal. Sandites lead 9-4.

Foster scored next for the Sandites, increasing the lead to 11-4, but on the next drive fouled a Bruin who proceeded to shoot two for two from the free throw line. 11-6 Sandites.

The Bruins followed it up with a field goal putting us 11-8. Foster caught a rebound from Bartlesville’s next possession, then scored a two-pointer taking us to 13-8.

With less than two minutes, Bartlesville had the ball but Sydney tips a pass and Scott grabs it, then passes it back to Sydney for a layup. Sandites lead 15-8.

Bartlesville got possession to start the second period but after several failed shots, the Sandites were the first to score in the second period as Gloria sank a two-pointer. Sydney fouled a Bruin who shot two for two from the free throw line bringing the score to 17-10.

Halfway through the period Sydney managed a steal, ran it all the way back for a layup despite a foul, then shot one for two on free throws bringing it to 20-10.

Bartlesville shot 2/2 on free throws, then Collins dropped a three, followed by Sydney with a steal for another three. Bartlesville scored next bringing the score to 26-14. Sydney scored a two point field goal next, then got fouled on a layup. After Sydney missed her first free throw, Grace Mutiri briefly checked in before Sydney made her second free throw, scoring the last point of the half. The first half expired and the Sandites led 30-16.

The Bruins found their feet in the second half and outscored the Sandites in the third period bringing it quickly to a close 32-31 by halfway through the period. Sydney got fouled on an attempted layup and shot two for two from the free throw line bringing it to 34-31, but the Bruins quickly responded with a two point field goal. Morgan got on the board next bring it to 37-33. Bartlesville got a two with under a minute bringing it to 37-35 going into the final period.

The Fourth period started with a series of misses from both sides before the Sandites finally connected a handoff from Scott to Gloria for two. Bartlesville also connected on a two then sank a pair of long three taking the lead, 43-39. Collins narrowed it with a pair of freebies, but Bartlesville pulled right back ahead with a layup. Gloria countered with a two pointer and Scott caught Bartlesville’s rebound with 3:00 left. Sydney shot for two but missed due to a foul, then only made one of two free throws leaving us trailing 45-44.

Bartlesville got the ball and burned a couple of timeouts but before they could make anything happen, Gloria stole the ball and got it to Morgan for a long three point field goal, giving the Sandites a 47-45 lead with 2:15 left to play. Bartlesville missed a pair of baskets and Sydney rebounded one and ran it all the way back for a two point layup plus a free throw bringing it to 50-45, Sand Springs.

Bartlesville picked up a free throw from a foul by Scott. Gloria got the rebound with 1:06 left but a traveling call gave Bartlesville the ball in Sandite territory with barely a minute left. Bartlesville was next to foul and Gloria shot two for two bringing it to 52-46 with 22 seconds left. Victory seemed assured.

But Bartlesville was not going down without a fight and they got off a stellar three point field goal with 14 seconds left. They then fouled Morgan who missed her free throw. The Bruins recovered the ball and launched it a fraction of a second before the buzzer, tying it at 52.

It was a mad dash of fumbles and steals for the first minute of overtime before Bartlesville fouled Sydney who then missed her free throw. Bartlesville ran it back for a layup but were fouled by Gloria. They took the lead with a pair of free throws, but with 2:30 left, Sydney got a free throw of her own in. Sandites trailed by one, but another pair of free throws from the Bruins left us back by three. Collins was next to get fouled but missed both of her free throws. Then the foul-fest continued with a foul by Morgan, but Bartlesville was unable to pick up the free throw.

The Sandites took the ball with 1:07 left, then burned a timeout with a minute left to play. Collins launched it to Morgan, but Bartlesville tipped it out. This time Morgan sent it to Collins who sent it right back to Morgan who sank it for a three from way out with 35 seconds left, tying it up at 56. Bartlesville took a timeout next with 26.4 left and in Sandite territory. Bartlesville took a shot and missed and it looked like it was going to be double overtime, but a miracle happened as Bartlesville fouled Morgan with 0.7 seconds left. Morgan sank both her free throws and the Sandites won 58-56!

2014-2015 Wrestlers Have Season To Remember

It’s been a heck of a season for the Sand Springs Sandites. Our wrestlers went 9-2 in duals and had one of the strongest tournament showings in recent memory.

They started out the season with a bang, scoring an unforgettable 77-0 shutout at Owasso then traveled the next day to compete in the Perry Tournament of Champions where they took second with 2 champions, 1 second place winner, 3 third place winners, and a fifth place winner. After Perry, they traveled to the Kansas City Stampede where they placed higher than ever before, taking 6th with 1 champion, 7 placers, and 6 consolation placers.

The majority of the dual season was a breeze. #14 Ponca City was defeated 59-15. Booker T was slaughtered 77-6. #5 Union was handily brought down 45-20. #11 Bixby stood no chance, falling 61-18. Collinsville, #1 in 5A, went down 52-18. #13 Jenks lost 66-7, #20 Sapulpa lost 63-6, and #17 Muskogee lost 66-5. Our only two losses came to the number one teams. Stillwater was ranked first when we battled it out 28-30, then they dropped to second and we took on the new #1 team less than a week later when we lost 25-35 to Broken Arrow.

The Sandites took home 1st place in the Jenks tournament with 6 champions, 1 consolation champion, and 3 consolation runners-up. Next was the Sapulpa Tournament, where the Sandites took 2nd place with 2 champions, 5 runners-up, and four placers. After that, the Sandites traveled to Yukon where they brought home their second 1st place trophy this season with 2 champions, 1 runner-up, 5 third place finishers, 1 fourth place finisher, 1 fifth place finisher, and 2 sixth place finishers.

The Sandites finished the regular season ranked 3rd in 6A behind only Stillwater and Broken Arrow.

The Sandites swept up at East Regionals where Cody Randall took 3rd in 106, Jack Karstetter took 1st in 113, Daton Fix took 1st in 120, Cody Karstetter took 2nd in 126, Beau Bratcher took 1st in 132, Caleb Basma took 4th in 138, Zane Basma took 4th in 145, Michael Singleton took 2nd in 152, Lane Lettich took 3rd in 160, Trace Fleischman took 1st in 182, Cole Dixon took 6th in 195 and Kyler Childers took 3rd in 220. The Sandites took second overall and qualified 11 wrestlers for state, the most since the 1995-1996 season.

As I write this, the wrestlers are currently in Oklahoma City, doing work at state, while most of their supporters are stuck in Sand Springs, snowed in.

106: #5 Cody Randall lost his first match on day one to #2 ranked Canon Randall of Westmoore in a 5-0 decision. He went on to defeat Norman North’s #6 Jakob Houston in the consolation bracket in a 4-3 decision. On day two, he pinned Sapulpa’s Brandon Blose in 3:20, then narrowly defeated  Broken Arrow’s #3 Tyler Lawley in a 2-1 decision for 3rd place, ending the season with a 40-8 record. Cody is a senior.

113: #2 Jack Karstetter lost his first match in a 6-4 decision to #7 Zane Taylor of Yukon, then pinned Ponca City’s #6 Dylan Schickram in an impressive 0:37 to end the first day. On day two, however, he lost 7-1 to Edmond North’s #1 Paxton Rosen and was eliminated from contention. He ends his season with a 35-9 record overall. Jack is a sophomore.

120: #1 Daton Fix won his first match of the day in a 24-9 tech fall only 5:21 into the match against Stillwater’s #8 ranked Tyler Dieringer, then pinned Edmond North’s #4 Brandon Bright in 2:53. On day two, Daton defeated Westmoore’s #2 Dalton Duffield in an 11-3 major decision, sealing his second consecutive state championship, and second undefeated season. He finished this season 43-0. Last season he was the undefeated champion of 113. Daton is a sophomore.

126: #2 Cody Karstetter defeated #5 Conor Dooling of Southmoore in a 12-3 major decision, then narrowly beat #3 Jacob Fontanez of Stillwater 1-0 on day one. On day two, Cody was defeated 3-1 by #1 Markus Simmons of Broken Arrow and had to settle for 2nd place. Simmons has only been beaten once this season, and it was by Daton Fix. Karstetter finished the season with a 38-8 record. Cody is a senior.

132: #2 Beau Bratcher lost his first match of day one to #4 Cy Trindle of Edmond North in a 3-1 decision, then lost his second match to Owasso’s Baylor Smith in a 6-2 decision, thus eliminating him from contention. Beau finished the season with a 34-11 record overall. Beau is a sophomore.

138: #6 Caleb Basma lost his first match of day one to #1 Boo Lewallen of Yukon by pin in 3:04, then lost his second match to Edmond North’s #7 Caleb Alexander in an 11-4 decision and was eliminated from the tournament. Caleb finishes the season with an overall record of 10-10. Caleb is a senior.

145: #8 Zane Basma lost his first match of day one to #1 Zachary Moore of Putnam City in a 13-3 major decision, but pinned #5 Daniel Mbainyael of Norman in 5:21. On day two, he was pinned in 2:00 by #7 Jake Thornton of Norman North. Zane finishes the season with a record of 28-15. Zane is a sophomore.

152: #3 Michael Singleton won his first match in a 7-5 decision against Midwest City’s #5 Evan Wilson, but was defeated in round two by Norman North’s Joseph Messer in an 11-4 decision. On day two, Singleton was defeated by #6 Gavin Millhouse of Del City in a 5-3 decision and eliminated from contention. He finished the season with a 30-16 record. Michael is a senior.

160: #4 Lane Lettich lost his first match of day one in a 7-4 decision to #2 Christian Bahl of Stillwater, then won his second match by pin in 5:10 against #6 Jackson McCoy of Edmond North. On day two he was pinned in 1:28 by #5 Deven Brewer of Westmoore and eliminated from the tournament. He finished the season with a 30-15 record. Lane is a junior.

182: #3 Trace Fleischman won his first match of day one in a 5-3 decision over Del City’s #5 Matt Lamb, but was defeated in round two by #6 Skyler Haynes of Broken Arrow. On day two, Trace defeated Ponca City’s #8 Austin Fry in an 11-4 decision, then pinned Bixby’s #4 Jared Kerr in 2:36, securing 3rd place. Trace finishes the season with a 13-3 record. Trace is a junior.

220: #6 Kyler Childers won his first match of day one in a close 4-3 decision over Stillwater’s #3 Cyntrell Carden, but lost in overtime to #1 Chance Wenglewski of Union. On day two, Childers pinned Del City’s #5 Nate Daniels in 1:13, then pinned Moore’s #7 Garrett Sanner in 5:05 to win 3rd place. Kyler is a senior.

The Sandites finished 3rd in 6A State with 85.5 points behind #1 Broken Arrow with 146 points and #2 Stillwater with 125 points.

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