Haddock and Savage combine for 39 in loss to Union
/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.
