Sandite Boys Show Promise in 67-48 Loss at Owasso

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Kooper Kelly, pictured against Edmond MEmorial, was the Sandites’ leading scorer Friday at Owasso with 16 points. (Photo by Charity Emigh).

Fans of the Charles Page High School boys’ basketball team shouldn’t be discouraged by an 0-2 start. The Sandites are showing plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the season to come.

The boys fell 59-55 to Edmond Memorial on Tuesday due to injuries and foul trouble, and their 67-48 loss to Owasso on Friday was a similar ordeal.

Sand Springs entered the game minus one starter in Blake Johnson, who was still in concussion protocol following a head-to-floor collision on Tuesday.

Despite missing the 6’5” junior forward, the Sandites still hung tight with one of last year’s State semifinalists until late in the game, only trailing 52-48 until the Rams closed on a 15-0 run in the final minutes.

An eight-point first quarter from Deke Thompson led to an 11-11 tie entering the second stanza.

Strong three-point shooting gave the Rams a 29-23 halftime advantage, but they were unable to pull away in the third quarter, never leading by more than seven before taking a 46-42 advantage into the final period.

Unfortunately for the Sandites, Khalil Allen drew a fourth foul early in the third and Kason Evans drew his fourth foul not long after.

With the visitors handcuffed in terms of physicality, the Rams attacked their foes relentlessly in the paint to run away with it.

Five-star sophomore prospect Jalen Montonati scored 23 points to lead all scorers while Gabe Patterson scored 12 and Boden Williams added 10 to put three Rams in double digits.

Kooper Kelly led the Sandites with 16 points, shooting 5-of-9 in the field and 3-of-4 at the stripe. Thompson scored 12 as the only other Sandite in double digits.

The Sandites and Rams will get a rematch on January 26th.

Sand Springs will look to get in the win column Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. with a district road game at Enid (0-1, 0-1), who fell 47-43 in its season-opener against Owasso. The Rams will host Edmond Memorial (2-0, 2-0) Tuesday.

Owasso 67 CPHS 48

1Q: Tied 11-11.
2Q: Owasso 18-12.
3Q: CPHS 19-17.
4Q: Owasso 21-6.
Free Throws: Owasso 12-of-17, CPHS 9-of-13.
Field Goals: Owasso 23-of-47, CPHS 16-of-40.
Offensive Rebounds: Owasso 8, CPHS 3.
Defensive Rebounds: Owasso 18, CPHS 12.
Total Rebounds: Owasso 26, CPHS 15.
Steals: Owasso 2, CPHS 3.
Blocks: Owasso 2, CPHS 4.
Fouls: Owasso 11, CPHS 18.

Sand Springs Statistics

Scoring: Kelly 16, Thompson 12, Fueshko 8, Allen 7, Evans 5.
Offensive Rebounds: Mitchell 1, Evans 1, Roper 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Allen 5, Fueshko 4, Thompson 2, Evans 1.
Total Rebounds: Allen 5, Fueshko 4, Thompson 2, Evans 2, Roper 1, Mitchell 1.
Steals: Kelly 1, Fueshko 1, Collins 1.
Assists: Fueshko 2, Mitchell 1.
Blocks: Kelly 3, Fueshko 1.
Fouls: Allen 4, Evans 4, Kelly 3, Thompson 3, Fueshko 2, Shope 1, Young 1.

Owasso Statistics

Scoring: Montonati 23, Patterson 12, Williams 10, Harbaugh 7, Lechlider 5, Nantois 4, Milton 3, Kerr 3.
Fouls: Harbaugh 3, Montonati 2, Lechlider 2, Kerr 2, Patterson 2.

Injuries and Fouls Add Up to Tough Season-Opening Loss for Sandites

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Deke Thompson scored 26 points in his Sandite debut. (Photo by Charity Emigh).

Injuries and fouls derailed a fast start and what could have been a statement win over a west-side team to open the season.

Charles Page High School fell 59-55 to Edmond Memorial after jumping out to a 14-9 first quarter lead and didn’t trail till the last bucket of the half.

Unfortunately for the Sandites, Khalil Allen drew a fourth foul early in the second quarter and spent the rest of the half on the bench. Kason Evans fouled out early in the third quarter, and Blake Johnson suffered a head injury that took him out of the game early in the third as well.

“That hurt,” said head coach Eric Savage. “We were real thin right there and giving a big size advantage once we lost all three of them. And really Khalil, he played the whole second half with four fouls, couldn’t be as aggressive as he normally is.”

“We were just holding on there in the second half,” said Savage. “But I thought they showed a lot of heart, didn’t give up, and gave us a chance there at the end. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”

Kooper Kelly got hot late in the game, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter. The Sandites trailed as much as 47-36 before Kelly sparked a 10-2 run.

“Kooper’s been doing a good job,” said Savage. “He’s a three-year starter so we kind of expect that from him and just kind of encourage him to not wait so late to get get going. I think the tendency is to kind of wait around and wait for other guys to get involved, but we want him to be aggressive and keep shooting the ball.”

Deke Thompson picked up where Kelly left off with 9 points in the final two minutes, including a three-pointer on a steal and assist by Kelly to make it 52-49 with 1:49 to play.

Kelly fouled out with 21 seconds left and Thompson cut it as close as 57-55 nine seconds later, but Danny Lynn hit a pair of free throws in the final moments to put the game away for the Bulldogs.

Thompson, a junior transfer from Jenks, led all scorers with 23 points.

“He’s a great player,” said Savage. “Obviously he’s a scorer and can do a lot of things and it’s going to free up some opportunities for some other guys. Take a little of the pressure off them.”

Kelly had 13 as the only other Sandite in double digits, while the Bulldogs were led by Lynn with 14.

The Sandites have more inside size than they’ve had in recent years and the addition of Thompson to an already-loaded junior class has the Sandites positioned for a resurgent season after a three-year slump of losing seasons.

Last year was already a bounce-back effort after the Sandites doubled their previous year’s win total at 10-14. With the OSSAA’s transition to district play this year, the Sandites should have an easier time returning to their pre-COVID form.

“I think we have a well-rounded team,” said Savage, who enters his 11th year at the helm.

“I think it’s going to take a little bit with the newcomers coming in for us to gel a little bit. We’re still haven’t had a lot of time together and our schedule’s really tough here at the beginning of the year and we’re going to have to go through some battles. But I really like our group and it’s going to be fun. We’ll get through the hurdles and I like where we’re going to be come January.”

Sand Springs will return to action Friday at 8:00 p.m. with a district road game against Owasso (1-0, 1-0) while Edmond Memorial will host Putnam City (1-0, 1-0) on Friday.

EDM 59 CPHS 55

1Q: CPHS 14-9.
2Q: EDM 18-11.
3Q: EDM 15-11.
4Q: CPHS 19-17.

Field Goals: EDM 21-of-39, CPHS 17-of-36.
Free Throws: EDM 14-of-22, CPHS 16-of-20.
Offensive Rebounds: EDM 9, CPHS 1.
Defensive Rebounds: EDM 15, CPHS 10.
Total Rebounds: EDM 24, CPHS 11.
Steals: EDM 6, CPHS 5.
Blocks: EDM 1, CPHS 1.
Fouls: EDM 21, CPHS 21.

Sand Springs Statistics

Points: Thompson 23, Kelly 13, Allen 9, Johnson 6, Roper 3, Evans 1.
Offensive Rebounds: Johnson 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Allen 4, Thompson 3, Fueshko 2, Mitchell 1.
Total Rebounds: Allen 4, Thompson 3, Fueshko 2, Johnson 1, Mitchell 1.
Steals: Kelly 2, Thompson 2, Allen 1.
Assists: Kelly 1, Thompson 1, Allen 1, Johnson 1, Fueshko 1.
Blocks: Allen 1.
Fouls: Kelly 5, Evans 5, Allen 4, Johnson 2, Fueshko 2, Mitchell 2, Roper 1.

Edmond Memorial Statistics

Points: Lyon 14, Pedulla 8, Hancuff 8, Nero 8, Miller 6, Youngblood 5, Franz 4, Brown 3, Lashley 3.
Fouls: Nero 4, Brown 4, Pedulla 3, Franz 3, Youngblood 3, Hancuff 2, Lynn 1, Miller 1.

Sandite College Report

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Men’s Basketball

2021 CPHS alum Marlo Fox is in his junior year at Rogers State University (2-2). He played two minutes in a season-opening 82-58 loss to Minot State but didn’t see action in the past three games. The Hillcats will return to action Saturday afternoon against Fort Hays State (5-1).

Football

Pittsburg State University backup quarterback Ty Pennington (2021) saw his season come to an end in a 24-21 loss to No. 2 Grand Valley State (11-1) in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

The seventh-ranked Gorillas (11-2) took a 21-14 lead into the fourth quarter but gave up 10 unanswered points, including the go-ahead touchdown with 35 seconds remaining, to end their season.

Pennington ended his redshirt-freshman year 46-of-69 passing for 447 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception with another 359 yards and four touchdowns on 76 carries.

Cheer

Ashley Blake (2022) is in her sophomore year at Oklahoma Baptist University and Coleman Wright (2020) is in his senior season at Nichols College.

Softball

Drew Hawkins (2021) is gearing up for her junior season next spring at Northeastern State University. The starting outfielder had a flawless defensive record last season while batting .235 while the RiverHawks went 30-21.

Jordyn Pearson (2021) will look to pick up some additional playing time in her junior year at Missouri Baptist University after playing two games last season in a 35-18-1 Spartan campaign. Pearson holds a 3.82 ERA and .333 career batting average after two seasons.

Shooting Sports

Gunnar Casey (2021) and Sammy Naugle (2021) are in their junior season at Connors State College. Casey recently posted a top-20 finish at the Ft. Hayes tournament in double skeet.

Baseball

Kyler Copeland (2019) will kick off his junior year this spring at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant. Copeland is in his second year with the Savage Storm after previous stints at College of the Ozarks and Dodge City Community College.

Kaden Young (2021) is expected to play at Randall University in Moore this spring after a two-year stint at Oklahoma Wesleyan.

2023 graduates Jabe Schlehuber and Dominic Ornelas will start their college careers at Northern Oklahoma College at Enid this spring.

2019 graduates Cale Savage and Cal Watkins will play their junior years together at Washburn University. Watkins played two years at Seminole State College while Savage played two years at NOC-Enid before the two reunited last season.

Meghan Charles Wraps Up Fall Season at OCU

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Oklahoma City University junior Meghan Charles (Class of 2021) is enjoying the mid-season winter break after a successful fall campaign.

Charles shot a two-round score of 150 in the season-opening Swinging Eagle Invitational at Southwestern Christian to help her team win the tournament title.

She tied for 49th place at the Texas Tech Red Raider Invitational, shooting 238 over three rounds.

In the final tournament of the fall she scored a 245 for 22nd place at the Coqui Classic in Puerto Rico as the Stars finished second in the team standings.

OCU will return to action on February 26th at The Trailblazer in Las Vegas.

Sandite Volleyballers Continue as Teammates in College

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PAyton Robbins

Three former Sand Springs volleyball players are still teammates even after moving up to the college level.

Teyha Johnson (Class of 2022), Charley Fahland (2022), and Payton Robbins (2023) are all continuing their volleyball careers together at Friends University and recently wrapped up an 8-25 season.

Johnson played in 10 matches this season, recording 32 assists, 5 aces, and 9 digs.

Fahland appeared in 3 matches, recording 1 assist and 4 digs.

Robbins earned a starting role as a freshman and played in 17 matches, recording 120 kills, 1 assist, 17 digs, and 14 blocks.

In addition to their on-court success, they’re also having success in the classroom. Johnson and Fahland both earned the 2023 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete award for maintaining a 3.5 GPA. Robbins was ineligible because she’s still a true freshman.

Gloria Mutiri (2020) is in her first season with the USC Münster professional team in Germany. She also played pro ball in Puerto Rico last season after graduating from the University of Oregon.

USC Münster is 1-6 on the season and sitting eighth in the Bundesliga but will have a big opportunity for a win on December 2nd at VC Neuwied (0-7).

Charley Fahland

Teyha Johnson

Four Former Sandites Kick Off College Wrestling Season

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Charles Page High School’s four-time undefeated State Champion from the Class of 2017 is back in the lineup at Oklahoma State University.

Daton Fix is in his seventh year overall and final year of eligibility. The redshirt senior is a three-time NCAA runner-up and four-time All-American and is looking to close out his storied career atop the podium.

Fix pinned his first opponent of the season, No. 16 Kurt Phipps, in 5:31 in a 38-6 dual win against Bucknell.

Also in the lineup at OSU is Carter Young, who won a State title at Sand Springs as a freshman before transferring to Stillwater.

The Pokes will return to action on December 1st at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas.

Ethan White (2023) is in his freshman year at Reinhardt University. White is 1-4 thus far, competing in two open tournaments. The Eagles will return to action at the Lindsey Wilson Duals on December 9th.

Ethan Norton (2022) is in his sophomore season at University of the Ozarks where he recently took 8th place at the Maryville Kaufman/Brand/Bayly Open. The Eagles will compete at the Drury University Open on December 2nd.