Sandites Go Undefeated at Memorial Invitational

For the fifth time in the seven year history of the festival, the Sand Springs boys basketball team (4-2) went undefeated at the Tulsa Memorial Veterans Arena Invitational over the weekend.

Following a 77-72 loss to No. 10 Bixby on Tuesday, the Sandites rolled to wins of 72-29 against the Oklahoma City Knights (3-11) Thursday, 55-42 against Tulsa NOAH (5-5) Friday, and 48-35 against Greenwood, Arkansas (2-7) Saturday.

“It feels good man. We needed those wins after a tough loss to Bixby,” said sophomore forward Blake Johnson.

Johnson scored 40 points on the week, with a career-best 15 against OKC and 12 against Greenwood.

“We’re trying to put weight on him but he’s really got a good basketball IQ,” said head coach Eric Savage.

“He sees the floor well, he moves without the ball. He’s a pretty versatile player because we can use him as a passer or an extra dribbler. He’s got some size and length to him inside where he can score inside, so I think his future is really bright.”

Johnson was particularly effective in the paint on Saturday, playing aggressively in key moments to shift momentum in the Sandites’ favor.

After trailing for the most of the second quarter, the Bulldogs rode a five-point swing to take the lead in the final minutes of the half, but Johnson ensured his team would come out on top.

The sophomore muscled his way through double coverage to go up 21-20, traded buckets with Brady Mackey, then capped off the half with his third consecutive score to make it 25-22.

Sand Springs wouldn’t trail again, opening the third quarter on a 14-point run.

“I’m trying to get them to play a tougher mentality,” said Savage. “I think the only way you get that is to play aggressive basketball and I think we’ve done that this week.”

“Even the Bixby game, we didn’t shy away from them.”

The Sandites had Bixby on upset alert for most of the night, but Notre Dame signee Parker Freidrichsen’s 40 points helped the Spartans secure the conference win.

Another big player for the Sandites was senior guard Michael Foster.

“Foster bounced back after not shooting the ball well the first two days,” said Savage.

Foster shot a career-high 18 points on Tuesday against the Spartans, then bookended the week with a game-best 16 points against Greenwood.

Sophomore Kooper Kelly scored a career-best 13 to lead the Sandites against NOAH, followed by Alijah Roper with 12. Roper also had a career-best 19 against Bixby.

The girls team (7-2) hung with No. 2 Bixby through a halftime tie before ultimately falling 84-50. Hailey Jackson scored 16 points with 9 rebounds in the loss, and Sakauri Wilson and Calla Fuseshko both scored 10.

Both teams will return to action January 5th. The girls will compete at the Putnam City Invitational while the boys will play at the East Central Classic in Ada.

Scoring Summaries

12/17/2022 - CPHS 48, Greenwood 35
CPHS;12;13;14;9;--;48
Greenwood;10;12;5;8;--;35

CPHS: Foster 16, Johnson 12, Allen 7, Kelly 6, Roper 3, Michell 2, Hooper 2.
Greenwood: Holt 9, Karnes 6, Chick 6, Kennon 5, Robins 5, Mackey 2, Bollman 2.

12/16/2022 - CPHS 55, NOAH 42
CPHS;12;12;14;17;--;55
NOAH;11;10;9;12;--42

CPHS: Kelly 13, Roper 12, Johnson 9, Holland 7, Allen 4, Hayes 4, Hooper 2, Shope 2, Foster 2.
NOAH: Wagner 10, Hislop 10, B. Bell 8, D. Bell 6, Garner 3, Brockett 3, Ross 2.

12/15/2022 - 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.

12/13/2022 - Bixby 84, CPHS 50 (Girls)
Bixby;17;16;23;28;--84
CPHS;14;19;9;8;--50

Bixby: G. Wernli 24, Nielsen 17, Baldwin 16, K. Wernli 12, Musick 7, Wilson 4, Daniel 2, Beltran 2.
CPHS: Jackson 16, Wilson 10, Fueshko 10, Martin 7, Morris 5, Taylor 2.

12/3/2022 - Bixby 77, CPHS 72 (Boys)
Bixby;17;27;13;20;--77
CPHS;19;15;21;17;--72

Bixby: P. Friedrichsen 40, Driver 15, L. Friedrichsen 10, McCormick 6, Holley 4.
CPHS: Roper 19, Foster 18, Michell 9, Allen 8, Kelly 7, Holland 7, Johnson 4.

Bixby Hoopers Sweep Sandites

Gentry Baldwin didn’t score a single point in the first half, but her 16-point performance in the third quarter sparked the No. 2 Bixby Spartans (4-1) to an 84-50 win over No. 9 Sand Springs (7-2) Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

“She is the most gutsy, gritty kid you’ve ever met in your life,” said head coach Tina Thomas.

“Walking out of the locker room I said ‘let’s go Gentry. Let’s go get this done,’ and she did.”

The top-ten battle between last year’s top two Frontier Valley Conference teams lived up to the hype as the Sandites and Spartans battled neck and neck to a halftime tie before the visitors pulled away.

The first half saw 12 lead changes and neither team led by more than 6 points. Abilene Christian commit Gracy Wernli had 15 by halftime for the Spartans and ended the night with a game-high 24.

“We’re kind of having to redefine who we are and how we do things,” said Thomas, who just lost Meredith Mayes, also an Abilene commit, to an ACL injury in last weekend’s Bixby tournament.

“It’s a process. A little bit of grieving going on right now because these kids have been together since third grade.”

“They’re very sad, but equally, or even more, driven. We’ve had good practices, tweaking on how we’re going to do things a little differently. But the kids have resolve and grit and determination to continue to pursue their goals.”

The Sandites were missing their own starter, Fayth Walker, who also suffered an ACL injury at the Bishop Kelley Tournament.

After ending the first half in a 33-33 tie, the Spartans opened the third quarter on a 12-point run and limited the Sandites’ opportunities through an aggressive full-court press that came away with seven steals.

“I’ve got some senior girls that have some grit and resolve about them and they decided the game wasn’t going to go that way any longer,” said Thomas.

After scoring eight treys in the first half the Sandites wouldn’t hit another and the Spartans appeared to find their new identity minus Mayes.

By the end of the night Drury-commit Alyssa Nielsen would have 17 points and Kate Wernli added 12.

Hailey Jackson led the Sandites with 16 points and 9 rebounds while Calla Fueshko and Sakauri Wilson scored 10 apiece.

Bixby improved to 2-0 in conference play and will travel to No. 14 Owasso (3-2, 1-1) Thursday night. Sand Springs dropped to 1-2 in the league and won’t play again till after the new year.

Boys

Notre Dame commit Parker Friedrichsen scored 40 points to lead No. 10 Bixby (4-1, 2-0) past the unranked Sandites (1-2, 1-2) but Sand Springs had the Spartans on upset alert most of the night before falling 77-72.

The home team trailed 44-34 at halftime but rallied to tie it at 55-55 on Alijah Roper’s fourth of five treys late in the third quarter.

The Sandites only trailed 73-69 after a pair of free throws from Khalil Allen with 35 seconds remaining but Friedrichsen went four-for-four at the charity stripe in the final minute to secure the win.

Sand Springs committed 25 fouls to Bixby’s 15 and the Spartans cashed in, going 34-of-36 on free throws.

Triston Driver scored 15 for Bixby and Luke Friedrichsen added 10. Alijah Roper scored 19 to lead the Sandites and Michael Foster had 18.

Sand Springs will compete at the Memorial Veterans Arena Invitational over the weekend while Bixby will play its last game of 2022 at No. 18 Owasso (0-2, 0-2) on Thursday.

Scoring Summaries

Bixby 84, CPHS 50 (Girls)
Bixby;17;16;23;28;--84
CPHS;14;19;9;8;--50

Bixby: G. Wernli 24, Nielsen 17, Baldwin 16, K. Wernli 12, Musick 7, Wilson 4, Daniel 2, Beltran 2.
CPHS: Jackson 16, Wilson 10, Fueshko 10, Martin 7, Morris 5, Taylor 2.

Bixby 77, CPHS 72 (Boys)
Bixby;17;27;13;20;--77
CPHS;19;15;21;17;--72

Bixby: P. Friedrichsen 40, Driver 15, L. Friedrichsen 10, McCormick 6, Holley 4.
CPHS: Roper 19, Foster 18, Michell 9, Allen 8, Kelly 7, Holland 7, Johnson 4.

Sandite Basketball Preview: Boys and Girls Poised for Success in 2022

The Charles Page High School varsity basketball season will officially tip off Tuesday, November 29th at Sapulpa.

The Sandite basketball teams went different directions last season. The boys will look to get back to form as they seek their first winning season since 2020, while the girls will look to build momentum off of last season’s state semifinal appearance.

After graduating a talented senior class that accounted for 75% of last season’s scoring, the boys will look to build a new identity behind a mostly young, inexperienced roster.

Fans can expect big things from sophomore Kooper Kelley, the lone returning starter, who averaged 6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1 steal last year.

Junior Alijah Roper also saw extensive action last season, averaging 2.9 points over 21 games. 6-foot-5 sophomore Blake Johnson also played in 21 games, averaging 1.3 points and 1.8 rebounds.

Kade Holland, Luke Hooper, Michael Foster, Jax Marshall, Mark Lair, and Sam Hayes will provide the team’s senior leadership.

The Sandites went 5-18 last season and were 7-11 in 2020, but have seen tremendous success under tenth-year head coach Eric Savage with four winning seasons, two Regional championships, and two State tournament appearances.

Savage holds a 423-218 head coaching record over 21 years and is 118-125 at Sand Springs.

The Lady Sandites are entering their fourth season under head coach Josh Berry, who holds a 50-21 record at Sand Springs and a 148-134 career mark.

The girls went 23-4 last season for their best record since 2017, winning the school’s eighth Regional title and seventh Area championship.

Sand Springs took big losses in Journey Armstead, Layne Kirkendoll, and Leyshia Morris, but still has lots of star power ready to make a name for itself.

6-foot senior Hailey Jackson averaged 13.9 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals last season, with three double-doubles and a career-best 31-point performance against Broken Arrow.

Juniors Taiona Morris and Sakauri Wilson also return as starters after combining for 11.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.9 steals per game last year.

Kiaryn Taylor, Fayth Walker, Abigaile Martin, Patience Pearce, and Tay'Ja Butler all saw solid playing time last season and will give the Sandites strong rotational depth. Freshman Calla Fueshko is also expected to make an impact.

When the girls tip off against Sapulpa at 6:30 p.m. they will be looking for their first Highway 97 Rivalry win since 2019. The boys, however, have won three straight meetings with Sapulpa since 2019.

The girls will then travel to the She Got Game Classic in Dallas over the weekend. The home opener for both teams will be December 6th against Muskogee with the girls playing at 6:30 p.m. and the boys at 8:00 p.m.

Boys Basketball: Sandites get first conference win, 62-46 against Sapulpa

In a battle for last place in the Frontier Valley Conference, Sand Springs finally got a much-needed 62-46 win against Sapulpa, Friday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

The 6A-East No. 14 Sandites (5-10 overall, 1-6 conference) out-shot and out-rebounded 5A-East No. 14 Sapulpa (4-12, 0-7) to win their third-straight Highway 97 Rivalry meeting.

“It feels good,” said Sand Springs head coach Eric Savage. “We’ve been close several times this year and we just haven’t been able to finish.”

“Sapulpa’s kind of having a year similar to ours, and we knew this was going to be two teams that were really hungry for a win. I thought from the tip we came out focused and executed, and really controlled the game.”

The Sandites took a 6-0 lead out of the gate and never trailed, though the score stayed close till midway through the fourth quarter.

“We had a few lapses in there and Sapulpa kept coming at us, but overall I thought they followed the game plan and we were able to keep them at bay,” said Savage.

Sand Springs took a 31-23 lead into the half and a 44-32 lead into the fourth quarter, with its biggest advantage being a 16-point lead early in the final stanza.

The visiting Chieftains then mounted a comeback attempt, scoring ten in a row, kicked off by a Gavin Read layup through contact. Read missed his and-one opportunity, but Kylen Edwards made the putback and drew a foul of his own, sinking the free throw.

Charles Hobbs scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to 48-42, but it was all Sand Springs from there. 

“We just had to keep attacking,” said Savage. “A couple of times we got slow and quit running. I tried to tell them, ‘we’re playing to win, we’re not playing not to lose.’ I thought we got a little tentative there with what to do with the ball.”

Edwards led all scorers with 20 points, but Jaymason Lindsey was the only other Chieftain in double digits with 12 points.

Jason Clark and JD Dickson led the Sandites with 12 points apiece, followed by Kooper Kelly with 10. Ethan Oakley, Cale Askew, and Costen Brockman added 8 points apiece, and Oakley had 15 rebounds.

“We’re making improvements,” said Savage. “It’s hard to see in our conference sometimes because of how top-heavy and good it is, but we’re making improvements, we’re shooting the ball better, we’re passing the ball better. We struggled early in the year when people would press us, and we’re doing a much better job of that.”

The Sandites will embark on another tough week on the road with a Tuesday game at No. 5 Union (8-8, 4-4) and a Friday battle at No. 6 Owasso (11-6, 6-2).

Sapulpa will host Bixby (6-10, 1-6) on Tuesday and Union on Friday. 

In junior varsity action the Sandites won 65-40 behind 17 points from Alijah Roper and 11 from Kade Holland.

CPHS 62 Sapulpa 46
1Q: CPHS 19-9.
2Q: Sapulpa 14-12.
3Q: CPHS 13-9.
4Q: CPHS 18-14.
Free Throws: CPHS 10-of-14, Sapulpa 10-of-14.
Field Goals: CPHS 22-of-39, Sapulpa 15-of-49.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 6, Sapulpa 5.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 27, Sapulpa 12.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 33, Sapulpa 17.
Steals: CPHS 8, Sapulpa 11.
Blocks: CPHS 2, Sapulpa 0.
Fouls: CPHS 17, Sapulpa 13.

Sand Springs (Unofficial) Stats

Scoring: Clark 12, Dickson 12, Kelly 10, Askew 8, Oakley 8, Brockman 8, Roper 4.
Offensive Rebounds: Askew 2, Clark 1, Kelly 1, Oakley 1, Roper 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Oakley 14, Kelly 4, Dickson 3, Brockman 3, Clark 2, Askew 1.
Total Rebounds: Oakley 15, Kelly 5, Clark 3, Askew 3, Dickson 3, Brockman 3, Roper 1.
Steals: Clark 4, Roper 2, Askew 1, Kelly 1.
Assists: Oakley 3, Kelly 2, Clark 1, Askew 1, Brockman 1.
Blocks: Kelly 1, Dickson 1.
Fouls: Oakley 4, Brockman 4, Askew 3, Kelly 3, Dickson 2, Roper 1.

Sapulpa Stats

Scoring: Edwards 20, Lindsey 12, Read 5, Hobbs 5, Lewis 2, Abbuge 2.
Fouls: Lindsey 3, Hobbs 3, Edwards 2, Abbuge 2, Willoby 1, Read 1, Lewis 1.

Sports Roundup: Lady Sandites Still Undefeated, Wrestling Falls to Bixby

Hailey Jackson scored 31 points for the Sandites against Broken Arrow.

This story was originally written by Scott Emigh for the Sand Springs Leader.

The last time the Sand Springs girls basketball team won ten straight games to start the season, it went on to win conference, regional, and area championships.

Whether this year’s eighth-ranked Lady Sandites reach similar heights remains to be seen, but they are still undefeated after meetings with No. 10 Broken Arrow and Bartlesville this week.

The Sandites picked up a 66-46 win over the Tigers (6-4, 2-2) Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House before traveling to Bartlesville for a 55-37 win against the Bruins (3-7, 0-4) to improve to 5-0 in Frontier Valley Conference action.

Junior star Hailey Jackson went off for 31 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 steals against the Tigers, while Journey Armstead contributed 15 points. Layne Kirkendoll added 8 points and 9 rebounds. 

“(Jackson)’s just coming along and playing hard,” said head coach Josh Berry. “I’ve always said she had the potential to be that good.”

The Sandites led by as much as 28 points early in the fourth quarter before sending in the backups. 

Friday’s game started a little slower, but the Bruins never led after the first quarter and the Sandites ran away with a 22-4 third quarter to put the game safely out of reach. 

“Every game for us in this conference, you’ve got to prepare for it,” said Berry. “If you’re not ready to play, you can get beat. Especially the way we play. We’re a defensively oriented team, so if we don’t come ready to play every night, we can get beat by anybody.”

Armstead scored 23 points with 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists. Jackson scored 8 points with 10 rebounds and Kirkendoll added 6 points with 11 rebounds. 

The Sandites will host Muskogee (1-6, 0-3) Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. before competing at the Jenks/Union tournament Thursday through Saturday. They will play Jenks (2-5) on Thursday before taking on either Trinity Christian or No. 1 Edmond North (10-0) on Friday.

Boys Basketball

The Sandite boys team (3-7, 0-5) is still looking for its first conference win of the season after falling 70-47 to Broken Arrow and 82-54 to Bartlesville this week.

On Tuesday the Sandites were led by Jason Clark with 10 points and Cale Askew with 9 in the home loss to No. 6 Broken Arrow (8-2, 4-1). Clark and Alijah Roper scored 12 apiece against No. 14 Bartlesville (6-4, 3-2).

Sand Springs will get its first unranked opponent in over a month when they play Muskogee (2-6, 0-3) on Tuesday. They will then travel to Catoosa for the Port City Classic with a Thursday matchup against the home team (9-4) at 8:30 p.m.

Wrestling

On Thursday the Sandites (3-1) suffered their first loss of the season, falling 47-24 to No. 5 Bixby (5-1). 

David Ritchey and Colt Hood pinned their foes to start the dual, then Zander Grigsby and Jayden Pait won decisions for an 18-0 lead against last year’s Dual State Runners Up.

The Spartans won the next eight matches, however, before Mason Harris collected a fall at heavyweight to end the night. 

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday at Union with a district triple-header against No. 10 Ponca City (1-2), No. 15 Union (1-4), and Edmond Deer Creek (0-3). The Sandites won five district titles in a row from 2016 to 2020 before coming up short last season.

The Sandite junior high team placed second at the Perry tournament over the weekend with three finalists.

Kase Skaggs, Kaden Pope, and Ryley Kester all placed second and Dawson Briscoe, Jaxon Grigsby, and Jaxon “Scout” Trotter placed third.

Sand Springs Boys Drop Conference Opener to Owasso 47-44 in OT

Photo by Charity Wickett. Click here to view full photo gallery.

A version of this story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Charles Page High School boys’ basketball team (2-1 overall, 0-1 conference) suffered their first loss of the season Tuesday, December 7th at the Ed Dubie Field House in a 47-44 overtime battle with No. 9 Owasso (3-1, 1-0). 

The No. 18 Sandites rallied from a 29-18 third-quarter deficit to take their only lead of the game at 37-36 late in the fourth quarter on a layup from Jason Clark.

Caleb Leslie’s fifth three-pointer of the night put the Rams back on top, but Ethan Oakley sank a pair of free throws with six seconds left to force the extra period. 

Caden Fry scored five straight points to start the four-minute overtime. A three from Kooper Kelly and a layup from Oakley kept the home team’s hopes alive, but EJ Lewis hit the back end of a one-and-one with six seconds remaining and Clark’s last-second three-point shot was no good.

“I’m proud of our heart and effort,” said head coach Eric Savage. “That’s got to be one thing we hang our hat on every night, and I thought they did that. It comes down to how well we execute at times.”

“Layups and free throws, it’s pretty basic. You make layups, you make your free throws, shoot a decent percentage, you win the game.” 

The Sandites were only 6-of-14 from the charity stripe and 10-of-26 from two-point range against the Rams.

JD Dickson led the home team with 15 points and four rebounds, followed by Ethan Oakley with 10 points and three boards. 

Sand Springs will take a week off to prepare for a conference road game at No. 4 Jenks (4-0, 1-0). The two teams split meetings last year, with Jenks winning a conference overtime game, but the Sandites got payback with an upset at Regionals. 

Jenks leads the series 8-7 in the Eric Savage era but the Sandites have won seven of the last nine. 

Scoring: (CPHS) Dickson 15, Oakley 10, Kelly 9, Clark 5, Askew 3, Brockman 1, Holland 1. (OHS) Leslie 15, Fry 10, Lewis 8, Clifton 5, Mann 4, Harbaugh 3, Manuel 2. 

Sand Springs won the junior varsity game 42-39 behind Collin Shope’s 18 points. Alijah Roper scored 8, Blake Johnson scored 6, and Michael Foster and Mark Lair scored 5 each.