Sandites Roll OKC Storm 69-47 Behind Thompson's 20

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On Tuesday night, Sand Springs boys basketball coach Eric Savage said he thought the Oklahoma City Storm (0-7) would be the toughest team that the Sandites would play at the Tulsa Memorial Veterans Arena Invitational.

If he’s right, then it should be an easy weekend for the Sandites, who pummeled OKC 69-47 in Thursday’s opener.

Sand Springs (2-3) jumped out to an 8-0 lead behind three pointers from Deke Thompson III and Kooper Kelly and never once trailed, maintaining a double-digit lead for most of the evening.

Kason Evans scored three buckets in the final two minutes of the first quarter to take a 16-6 lead.

A five-point run from Corbin Hamilton cut the gap to 18-11, but Thompson responded with a pair of treys and a dunk to double up on the Storm at 26-13.

Sand Springs took a 31-19 lead into the locker room and led 43-33 after three quarters. The Storm cut things as close as 43-37 to open the fourth before the Sandites finally ran away with things.

A pair of layups from Evans sparked a 17-2 run and the Sandites led by as much as 66-42 late in the game.

Thompson led all scorers with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, followed by Evans with 15 points and 7 rebounds. 12 of the Sandites’ 15 players saw action and 8 made their way into the scorebook.

Ayomide Adenle-Pinder led OKC with 13 points, followed by Hamilton with 12.

Sand Springs will return to action Friday night at 7:30 p.m. against Crossover Prep (6-5). OKC will look for its first win of the season Saturday at 12:30 p.m. against Collinsville (4-0).

CPHS 69 OKC 47

1Q: CPHS 16-6.
2Q: CPHS 15-13.
3Q: OKC 14-12.
4Q: CPHS 26-14.
Free Throws: CPHS 12-of-17, OKC 4-of-6.
Field Goals: CPHS 25-of-61, OKC 19-of-56.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 17, OKC 11.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 21, OKC 14.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 38, OKC 25.
Steals: CPHS 8, OKC 9.
Blocks: CPHS 3, OKC 6.
Fouls: CPHS 14, OKC 13.

Sand Springs Statistics

Points: Thompson 20, Evans 15, Kelly 8, Shope 7, Johnson 6, Fueshko 6, Allen 5, Young 2.
Offensive Rebounds: Johnson 6, Evans 5, Thompson 3, Allen 2, Fueshko 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Kelly 6, Thompson 4, Allen 3, Mitchell 3, Evans 2, Roper 1, Young 1, Shope 1.
Total Rebounds: Thompson 7, Evans 7, Johnson 6, Kelly 6, Allen 5, Mitchell 3, Roper 1, Fueshko 1, Young 1, Shope 1.
Steals: Mitchell 2, Roper 1, Thompson 1, Allen 1, Johnson 1, Young 1, Shope 1.
Assists: Kelly 3, Thompson 3, Johnson 2, Roper 1, Evans 1, Fueshko 1.
Blocks: Allen 2, Roper 1.
Fouls: Fueshko 3, Allen 2, Johnson 2, Evans 2, Roper 1, Kelly 1, Thompson 1, Fueshko 1, Shope 1.

OKC Statistics

Points: Adenle-Pinder 13, Hamilton 12, Sejour 6, Sykes 6, Harland 3, Edens 3, Steele 2, Farrington 2.
Fouls: Sejour 2, Farrington 2, Sykes 2, Mills 2, Hamilton 1, Harland 1, Steele 1, Edens 1, Eichman 1.

Deke Thompson Leads Sandites to First Win of the Season

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The return of Blake Johnson from injury combined with a 7-of-9 first-half shooting performance from Deke Thompson III helped the Sand Springs boys basketball team coast to a dominant 71-56 win against Putnam City (3-4, 2-2) Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

It was the first win of the season for Sand Springs (1-3, 1-3), who started the year with a tough district slate and lost its starting power forward to a concussion in the very first game.

“We had a week to prepare after those three hard games and we knew we had to come out with some emotion and intensity,” said head coach Eric Savage.

The Sandites never once trailed, going on an 11-2 run to end the first quarter up 22-10 and by halftime they led 41-23.

“Defense was really good in the first half,” said Savage. “That kind of set the tone early. We kind of coasted and traded buckets in the second half.”

“When you’re up and can hold a double-digit lead, we’ll take that.”

The Sandites built their dominant lead behind Thompson, who scored a season-high 24 points with five three-pointers.

“He showed his shooting ability,” said Savage. “Same thing with him and Kason (Evans), they’re both getting more comfortable shooting. He’s a talent shooting the ball. When he gets going, he can score in bunches.”

Thompson and JaColby Williams traded treys to open the game, then Johnson scored three buckets in a row to make it 9-3 and the Pirates never tied it again.

Johnson scored all 8 of his points in the first quarter and ended the night with 3 assists, 1 rebound, and 1 steal despite seeing limited action for the rest of the game.

“Blake does all the little things that maybe don’t show up on the stat sheets all the time,” said Savage. “He’s kind of our glue guy. Everything moves a lot better when he’s in the game".”

Putnam held closer in the second half, only losing the third quarter 11-10, and won the fourth quarter 23-19, but never got within 10 points of the home team, even as the Sandites went 12 deep on the bench.

Fouls were a big difference maker as the Sandites had a season-low 13 penalties and none of their players got in trouble till late in the game.

Evans had a season-best performance with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Sandites’ first double-double of the year.

Kooper Kelly added 11 points and Alijah Roper had 10 to put four Sandites in double digits.

Sand Springs will return to action Thursday at the Tulsa Memorial Veterans Arena Invitational against the OKC Storm (0-5) at 4:30 p.m.

Putnam City will host No. 3 Owasso (6-1, 4-0) next Tuesday at 8:00 p.m.

CPHS 71 PCO 56

1Q: CPHS 22-10.
2Q: CPHS 19-13.
3Q: CPHS 11-10.
4Q: PCO 23-19.
Free Throws: CPHS 16-of-23, PCO 8-of-14.
Field Goals: CPHS 24-of-47, PCO 21-of-45.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 9, PCO 5.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 20, PCO 15.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 29, PCO 20.
Steals: CPHS 4, PCO 5.
Blocks: CPHS 4, PCO 1.
Fouls: CPHS 13, PCO 18.

Sand Springs Statistics

Points: Thompson 24, Evans 14, Kelly 11, Roper 10, Johnson 8, Allen 4.
Offensive Rebounds: Evans 4, Allen 3, Thompson 1, Kelly 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Evans 6, Kelly 4, Thompson 3, Roper 2, Fueshko 2, Mitchell 1, Johnson 1, Allen 1.
Total Rebounds: Evans 10, Kelly 5, Allen 4, Thompson 4, Roper 2, Fueshko 2, Mitchell 1, Johnson 1.
Steals: Kelly 1, Johnson 1, Fueshko 1, Young 1.
Assists: Roper 4, Johnson 3, Thompson 2, Fueshko 2, Kelly 1.
Blocks: Kelly 1, Thompson 1, Evans 1, Allen 1.
Fouls: Kelly 4, Thompson 2, Allen 2, Evans 2, Johnson 1, Fueshko 1, Young 1.

Putnam City Statistics

Points: Thompson 21, Williams 13, Stephens 12, Osborne 6, Locke 4.
Fouls: Perry 3, Thompson 3, Osborne 3, Williams 2, Denson 2, Stephens 2, Lloyd 2, Locke 1.

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 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.

Sakauri Wilson scores 27, Sandites Upset No. 1 Sapulpa 57-53

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Sakauri Wilson says she puts up a hundred free throws a day, and it paid off Friday night at the Ed Dubie.

The junior guard went 8-for-8 at the charity stripe, including four free throws in the final 20 seconds of a 57-53 upset against 5A No. 1 Sapulpa (17-2).

The Sandites (14-6) previously lost 61-21 to the Chieftains to open the season but managed to keep pace in the rematch for their first rivalry win since 2019. It also snapped a 10-game win streak for Sapulpa, who hadn’t tasted defeat since December.

“I wasn’t intimidated at all,” said Wilson, who scored a career-high 27 points to lead all scorers.

“I just knew the first time (we played them) we weren’t ready, everybody was scared.”

“We all came together as a team, clutch free throws at the end, everybody’s coming together on defense and shutting everybody down.”

Sand Springs trailed for most of the first quarter but traded leads through the second and entered the locker room with a 26-24 advantage on Wilson’s first of three treys.

A five-point run midway through the third gave Sand Springs the lead till the final two minutes when a Sapulpa rally nearly staved off the upset.

Sapulpa trailed 49-42 before surging ahead to a 52-51 lead, but Abigaile Martin put her team back on top from the free throw line and the Chieftains never led again.

Hailey Jackson also had a big night with 20 points and 7 rebounds while Oklahoma State signee Stailee Heard had 23 to pace the Chieftains.

“That’s a good team over there,” said head coach Josh Berry. “We just had a great all around effort tonight and some girls stepped up and made some plays.”

The Sandites also won 54-38 at No. 13 Bartlesville (7-13) on Monday behind a career-high 17 from Calla Fueshko, but dropped a 69-40 decision to No. 2 (15-6) Bixby on Tuesday.

“We just challenged them to match (Sapulpa)’s energy and their effort and I think that’s what they did tonight. Plus they made plays.”

“That’s what it comes down to. It’s not too much about Xs and Os, it’s about the players. When they make plays, it makes it easy on us.”

(Boys) Sand Springs 78 Sapulpa 57

Sapulpa’s warmup shirts said “beating Sand Springs never gets old,” but it was the Sandites who prevailed 78-57 in a Friday night romp.

The Sand Springs boys (10-10) paid back a season-opening 60-51 loss at Sapulpa (5-14) with a balanced team attack.

Alijah Roper scored 15 to lead the Sandites, closely followed by Blake Johnson and Kade Holland with 14 apiece - a career-high for Holland.

“We always enjoy a rivalry win against Sapulpa, especially after they got us in the first game of the year at their place,” said head coach Eric Savage.

“The guys were focused and ready. They were excited - we really didn’t have to motivate them much to play this game.”

Jalen Pratt’s opening three-pointer gave Sapulpa its only lead of the night but the Sandites soon set the tempo and took a 21-11 lead into the second quarter.

“I thought we came out and set the tempo early and really dominated inside the paint,” said Savage.

“Our bigs really controlled offensive and defensive rebounds inside and made their guards alter their shots a little bit and that was a huge factor for us getting off to a good start.”

By halftime the Sandites led 39-25 and Sapulpa never got within double digits in the second half.

The Sandites fell 58-52 to Bartlesville (7-12) on Monday despite a career-high 14 points from Khalil Allen. They also lost 73-44 to Bixby (17-4) on Tuesday.

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday with a Senior Night home finale against Union.

The Sandites also received their Regional playoff assignments on Wednesday.

The girls will play No. 11 Stillwater (7-13) in the first round of the Norman Regional on the 23rd, while the boys will play No. 6 Moore (14-6) in the first round of the Bixby Regional on the 24th.

Box Scores

CPHS;21;18;18;21;--;78.
Sapulpa;11;14;18;14;--57.

Scoring: (CPHS) Roper 15, Holland 14, Johnson 14, Hooper 9, Allen 8, Kelly 7, Foster 6, Shope 2, Mitchell 1. (Sapulpa) Harris 18, Abbage 10, Lewis 8, Read 8, Ragsdale 6, Pratt 5, Willbey 2.

(Girls) Sand Springs 57, Sapulpa 53
CPHS;8;18;12;19;--57.
Sapulpa;12;12;11;18;--53.

Scoring: (CPHS) Wilson 27, Jackson 20, Martin 4, Fueshko 4, Taylor 2. (Sapulpa) S. Heard 23, Ri. McQuarters 12, Ra. McQuarters 11, T. Heard 5, Adkisson 2.

Sandite Weekly Sports Roundup: Basketball Sweeps Roughers, Athletes Sign LOIs

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Sandite basketball swept the Muskogee Roughers Friday night with the varsity boys winning 72-65 while the girls won 63-41.

The 6A-East No. 6 Lady Sandites (12-5, 5-3) never trailed against No. 14 Muskogee. It was still a close game at 39-31 entering the fourth but the Sandites steamrolled the Roughers 24-10 in the final stanza.

Hailey Jackson scored 24 points to lead all scorers, Taiona “Yanni” Morris added 13, Sakauri Wilson had 9, and three different Sandites scored 5 apiece.

“We’re starting to play better as a unit,” said head coach Josh Berry. “We have more people stepping up.”

Sand Springs will have to cover six games over the final two weeks after meetings with Bartlesville and Booker T. Washington were postponed due to weather. This is the second time the Washington game has been rescheduled.

“This is our second game in 17 days,” said Berry. “It’s a bit different from when we start the season out with eight games in like 14 days.”

“We’re rested and we’re ready to go. It’s nothing that we can control so we just try to get better.”

The No. 11 Sandite boys (9-8, 2-6) snapped a five-game conference skid and got back above .500 overall with a win over the No. 15 Roughers (3-13, 0-9).

The Sandites led 34-27 at halftime but a seven-point run put the Roughers up 45-44 entering the final stanza.

Jamarian Ficklin tied it for the final time at 52-52 but Kooper Kelly hit a pair of free throws and layed up on a steal to put his team ahead for the final three minutes of the game.

Kelly tied his career-high with 20 points to lead all scorers while Luke Hooper also had a career night with 15 points.

“Any conference win, especially on the road, is a good feeling,” said head coach Eric Savage.

“In the past we’ve kind of lost our composure. A couple of times this wear we gave up the lead and never got it back. We showed some growth tonight and were able to weather the storm and get back in control late in the fourth quarter.”

Sand Springs will travel to Bixby on Tuesday and Bartlesville on Thursday before hosting Sapulpa Friday night.

Signing Day

School may have been canceled, but the festivities couldn’t be stopped Wednesday morning at the Ed Dubie Field House. Sand Springs celebrated 10 student-athletes who signed letters of intent to continue their careers at the collegiate level.

Many of the players will get to enjoy Sand Springs connections on their new rosters.

Kyle Morrall, Jacob Blevins, and Drake Fain signed with Northwestern Oklahoma State University to play Division II football. There they will be reunited with former Sandite assistant coach Jason Medrano, who recently took over as Offensive Coordinator for the Rangers.

Brody Rutledge signed to play Division II football at Northeastern State University. There he will join former Sand Springs teammates Gabe Brown, Landon Hendricks, and Blake Jones.

Dominic Ornelas and Jabe Schlehuber signed to play junior college baseball together at Northern Oklahoma College in Enid.

Carson Sargent signed to play Division II soccer at Rogers State University, where she will join former teammates Ali Day and Karsen Lynch.

Payton Robbins signed to play NAIA volleyball at Friends University in Kansas, where she’ll be reunited with Sandites Tehya Johnson, Charley Fahland, and Kasidy Holland.

Madori Bland signed with the stunt team at Drury University, a Division II program in Missouri.

Coleman Hight signed to play NAIA golf at Southwestern College in Kansas.

Baseball

Freshman quarterback Easton Webb has been getting lots of attention as a football prospect, but on Friday he announced his commitment to Oklahoma State University as a baseball player before ever playing a varsity minute.

Sand Springs will kick off the preseason with a home scrimmage against Sapulpa on the 16th at 4:30 p.m.

Girls Powerlifting

The Sand Springs girls powerlifting team took second place at the All-American Lift-a-thon in Shawnee Saturday with two champions. The Sandites had 137 team points, just behind Choctaw with 141.

Madison Thompson won the 220 weight class, sweeping all three events. She benched 140, squatted 285, and deadlifted 295.

Jaden Jordan won at heavyweight, taking first in squat at 335 pounds, first in deadlift at 375, and third in bench at 155.

Melani Skelly placed third, Gracie Worthington placed fourth, and Bailey Doughty and Kiyah Dover placed fifth.