Sandite Boys Show Promise in 67-48 Loss at Owasso

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

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 Basketball Tips Off Tuesday at Home Against Edmond Memorial

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The Charles Page High School varsity basketball teams will tip off the season Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House in a district double-header against Edmond Memorial.

The varsity girls will play at 6:30 p.m. while the boys will play at 8:00 p.m.

The girls are in their fifth year under head coach Josh Berry, who holds a 68-30 record at Sand Springs and a 166-143 record overall.

The Lady Sandites went 18-9 overall last season and 9-5 in the final year of Frontier Valley Conference play. They ended their season in the Area consolation finals, one round short of the State tournament.

The girls graduated Fayth Walker and All-State selection Hailey Jackson, but return Sakauri Wilson, Taiona Morris, and Kiaryn Taylor, who are all receiving attention from college recruiters. Abigaile Martin, Calla Fueshko, and Patience Pearce are all impactful returners.

The Sandites also picked up a big-time transfer in Hope Bump, a junior star at Claremore who was an All-Conference second-team selection in the Metro Lakes who averaged 18 points and 9 boards last season.

The boys went 10-14 overall and 3-11 in FVC play under head coach Eric Savage, who holds a 123-121 record after ten seasons at Sand Springs and a 428-214 record overall.

The boys graduated Michael Foster, Jax Marshall, Kade Holland, Sam Hayes, and Luke Hooper, but will still return a talented lineup anchored by Alijah Roper, Kooper Kelly, Blake Johnson, and Khalil Allen.

Junior transfer Deke Thompson will be a high-profile addition from Jenks as an All-Conference Honorable Mention last season. Marcus Mitchell, Zane Fueshko, and Colin Shope all return a wealth of experience from last season.

The OSSAA shifted to district play this season, meaning the Sandites will say goodbye to old rivals like Sapulpa, Broken Arrow, Bixby, Muskogee, Booker T. Washington, and Jenks. Shockingly, the Highway 97 Rivalry is not on the schedule this season.

Edmond Memorial will be the first district opponent for the Sandites in the new era. The Bulldog boys went 12-11 last season while the girls were 22-5.

The Lady Sandites’ last meeting with the Bulldogs was a 50-46 victory in the Area consolation playoffs in 2021. If the boys have ever played Edmond Memorial, it was before Sandite Pride’s records.

Sandite Basketball takes a beating at Jenks

JD Dickson goes for a layup against Jenks. Photo by Charity Wickett.

This story was originally written by Scott Emigh for the Tulsa World.

If the No. 3 Jenks boys’ basketball team (4-0 overall, 2-0 conference) was looking for a statement win, it found it Tuesday against No. 16 Sand Springs (2-2, 0-2). The Trojans dealt Eric Savage the biggest defeat of his Sand Springs career, 84-35, in a game that saw little drop off in second or third-string action.

“Eric is the best in our business at managing games,” said Jenks head coach Clay Martin. “We were trying to create a tempo as early as we could, because he’s so good at slowing the game down for his team.”

The Sandites have a reputation for playing gritty, low-scoring games against higher ranked opponents. In the last meeting between the two teams, the unranked Sandites beat the No. 8 Trojans 43-40 in last year’s Regional playoffs.

“We have a lot of respect for him and that program,” said Martin. “We were just lucky to get a tempo going and create some run-outs early, which got the momentum going.”

The Trojans were fresh off a tournament title from Tahlequah, where they beat Tahlequah Sequoyah 90-19, then edged out Muskogee 59-52 and Moore 60-58 in overtime. 

“All the credit in the world to our guys,” said Martin. “Coming off a big tournament win, you come back and we were wondering how we were going to respond. I think with the experience we have and the leadership we have on the floor, we were ready to go.”

Chase Martin led all scorers with 15 points, followed by Benjamin Averitt with 13, and Deke Thompson with 11. 

Thompson scored all of his points from the bench, in the fourth quarter, and the backups accounted for 33 in the lopsided affair.

“Obviously when you’ve got a little lead, the rim gets bigger,” said Martin. “I was really proud to see a lot of our guys who don’t always get a lot of minutes get in there and have some opportunity.”

The Trojans will try to ride that momentum into the Tournament of Champions on December 27th with a first-round game against 2A No. 2 Cashion (1-0).

Sand Springs will take three weeks off before traveling to No. 12 Booker T. Washington (2-0, 2-0) after the new year.

Jenks 84 CPHS 35
1Q: Jenks 17-7.
2Q: Jenks 22-9.
3Q: Jenks 23-12.
4Q: Jenks 22-7.
Free Throws: Jenks 7-of-10, CPHS 4-of-13.
Field Goals: Jenks 33-of-62, CPHS 13-of-47.
Offensive Rebounds: Jenks 11, CPHS 12.
Defensive Rebounds: Jenks 22, CPHS 18.
Total Rebounds: Jenks 33, CPHS 30.
Steals: Jenks 7, CPHS 2.
Blocks: Jenks 2, CPHS 1.
Fouls: Jenks 11, CPHS 13.

Scoring: (Jenks) Martin 15, Averitt 13, Thompson 11, Tata 9, Golightly 8, Smith 8, Simmons 7, Wilkins 6, Bacon 4, Coffey 3. (CPHS) Dickson 6, Oakley 6, Shope 6, Clark 5, Askew 5, Kelly 5, Johnson 1, Hendricks 1.