Sandite Basketball Pummels Crossover Prep 98-47

All 15 members of the Sand Springs boys’ basketball team saw substantial playing time, 13 made their way into the scorebook, and four scored in double digits Friday night as the Sandites pummeled Crossover Prep 98-47 in the second round of the Tulsa Memorial Veterans Invitational.

It was the highest-scoring game and largest margin of victory for the Sandites since 2020, and the second-highest scoring game of Eric Savage’s Sand Springs coaching tenure.

“I was more worried about stopping them after that first quarter,” said Savage. “They were hitting everything. We didn’t have as much intensity coming out of the gate probably as we needed to.”

Crossover was probably feeling fairly confident after taking a 26-22 lead into the second period, but Blake Johnson kicked off an 18-point run for the Sandites, who shut out the Lions for the first five minutes of the quarter.

Augustine Pickard hit a three-pointer to stop the streak, but the Sandites just started another, scoring 19 in a row through the end of the half and into the third.

“This is new for a lot of these guys,” said Savage. “Learning how to handle and take that next step on being a quality team is what we’re trying to learn.”

“Second quarter, everything changed. Held them to three points. That kind of got us rolling and after that we got to go deep in the bench. Everybody contributed and got to play valuable minutes.”

The Sandites didn’t wait till the fourth quarter to start substituting, with 12 different players seeing action in the first quarter alone. Once Crossover started to make a game of it, the starters saw more playing time in the second period until the double-digit lead was established.

“We’re trying to develop some depth and trying to see some guys with some different lineups and see what works best,” said Savage.

“The guys that we subbed in played well and so those starters got to sit over there for a little bit in the first half.”

Johnson established himself as a threat in the paint early on, ending the night with a career-best 16 points and 9 rebounds. He had 8 points and 6 boards in the first quarter alone, scoring all four buckets on putbacks.

The junior power forward missed two games after suffering a concussion early in the first game of the year, but the Sandites have won three in a row since he rejoined the lineup.

“We had a rough start to the year but we’re really figuring it out and meshing as a team,” said Johnson. “One game at a time, one win at a time, that’s all it takes.”

“It drove me crazy sitting on the bench watching us, but you’ve got to control what you can control. I knew God had a plan for me, I knew He had the perfect timing, so it is what it is.”

Deke Thompson III led the Sandites for the fifth time this season, scoring 23 points through the first three quarters. The junior transfer from Jenks is averaging 19.7 points per game thus far on the season.

“He’s a proven scorer,” said Savage. “He’s a good athlete and a good defender as well. He’s kind of got what we’ve been missing the past few years.”

“He provides a lot of energy and that’s contagious to everybody around him. Right now I would say he’s probably more of our emotional leader as well. Him and Blake Johnson probably take that on the most.”

Kason Evans, another Jenks transfer, scored 6 points with 5 rebounds, with most of his playing time coming in the middle two quarters.

“They’ve been game changers,” said Johnson. “They’ve been great teammates, great team chemistry. Deke brings a new scoring aspect, Kason brings a little bit of a dog mentality…they’ve been real huge for us.”

Khalil Allen had a big night as well, matching his career-high with 14 points while collecting 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.

Kooper Kelly added 12 points and is averaging 11.5 as the team’s number-two scorer this season.

The Sandites (3-3) will wrap up the Memorial festival with a 3:30 p.m. game against KIPP (1-9). That game also figures to be a high-scoring affair as the Bulldogs lost their first two games against Memorial and Collinsville by a combined score of 187 to 73.

Crossover (6-7) will play Memorial (7-2) at 2:00 p.m.

CPHS 98 Crossover 47

1Q: Crossover 26-22.
2Q: CPHS 26-3.
3Q: CPHS 29-7.
4Q: CPHS 21-11.
Free Throws: CPHS 10-of-15, Crossover 3-of-8.
Field Goals: CPHS 43-of-80, Crossover 17-of-59.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 16, Crossover 3.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 37, Crossover 22.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 53, Crossover 22.
Steals: CPHS 14, Crossover 4.
Blocks: CPHS 7, Crossover 2.
Fouls: CPHS 12, Crossover 10.

Sand Springs Statistics

Points: Thompson 23, Blake 16, Allen 14, Kelly 12, Roper 8, Evans 6, Mitchell 4, Ketcher 4, K. Smith 3, Fueshko 2, Young 2, Shope 2, T. Smith 2.
Offensive Rebounds: Johnson 5, Allen 4, Thompson 3, Evans 1, K. Smith 1, Collins 1, Kethcher 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Allen 6, Roper 5, Johnson 4, Evans 4, Collins 4, Young 3, K. Smith 3, Thompson 2, Kelly 2, Shope 2, Mitchell 1, Betchan 1.
Total Rebounds: Allen 10, Johnson 9, Thompson 5, Roper 5, Evans 5, Collins 5, K. Smith 4, Young 3, Shope 2, Kelly 2, Mitchell 1, Betchan 1, Ketcher 1.
Steals: Roper 3, Kelly 3, Thompson 2, Johnson 1, Evans 1, Mitchell 1, Shope 1, T. Smith 1, Ketcher 1.
Assists: Roper 4, Young 2, Allen 1, Thompson 1, Johnson 1, Kelly 1, Fueshko 1, Mitchell 1, K. Smith 1.
Blocks: Allen 2, Thompson 2, Kelly 1, Shope 1, Collins 1.
Fouls: Young 3, Johnson 2, Roper 2, Kelly 2, Allen 1, Evans 1, Shope 1.

Crossover Prep Statistics

Points: Pickard 17, Terrell 12, Laird 5, Cowans 4, Shaw 3, McBee 2, Oliver 2, Perry 2.
Fouls: Downing 3, Terrell 2, Pickard 2, Cowans 1, McBee 1, Perry 1.

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.

Lady Sandites Beat Union and Owasso, Receive Regional Assignment

The Sand Springs girls’ basketball team should be battle tested and ready when the Regional playoffs arrive Thursday.

The 6A-East No. 6 Lady Sandites went 2-1 in a tough final week to the regular season, ending the year 16-7 overall and 9-5 in the tough Frontier Valley Conference.

“We’re a team that’s still learning every day,” said head coach Josh Berry. “We’re up and down, but hopefully we’re going to be going up over this next week, which I think we will.”

The Sandites were on upset alert Tuesday against No. 16 Union (5-18) on Senior Night but survived 48-43 behind a 23-point performance from Hailey Jackson.

On Thursday, however, they suffered a 58-30 drubbing at No. 1 Booker T. Washington (17-5) as the team struggled with a 20% field goal performance, their worst since a season opening loss at Sapulpa.

“The best thing is to see if you can come back and regroup the next night and play, and we were able to do that,” said Berry.

The Sandites stormed out to a 26-12 halftime lead at No. 7 Owasso (12-9) on Friday in a game that the Rams probably felt due to win. The first two meetings between Sand Springs and Owasso were decided by a total of three points, but the Sandites only trailed once in the rematch.

The visitors surrendered an uncontested opening bucket to Laila Hamilton, a senior who has missed the entire season to injury. The senior tapped in the final bucket of her career and exited the game to applause, and fortunately the Sandites’ charity didn’t come back to haunt them.

After taking their biggest lead of the game at 29-12 to open the third, the Sandites suddenly found themselves on the ropes after Owasso used a 16-2 swing to make it a one-score game entering the fourth.

“(Thursday) we might have lost this game, but today they stayed together, they kept their composure, and they found a way to win, and that’s the most important part,” said Berry.

Jackson broke the Rams’ momentum with a three-point play to open the fourth and scored seven of her 15 points in the final stanza to secure the team’s 11th consecutive win against Owasso.

Jackson’s 15 led all scorers, while Sakauri Wilson added 11 and Taionna Morris had 10.

“We played a few tough teams this past six games,” said Berry. “I think that we did well, we held ourselves well. I’m proud of them for the season that we had but now everybody’s 0-0 and let’s just go see what happens.”

Sand Springs will travel to Norman Thursday for a first-round Regional playoff against No. 11 Stillwater (8-15) at 6:00 p.m.

No. 7 Norman (17-4) will host No. 14 Muskogee (6-15) in the other semifinal. The finals will be Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

“We’re going to need a lot of people to pitch in,” said Berry.

“We always say ‘I don’t know how we’re going to win, but however it is that night, just be ready. It might be your night, it might be somebody else’s night. Just be ready.’”

Boys

The 6A-East No. 11 Sand Springs boys (10-13) suffered a tough final week to the regular season, falling 66-37 to No. 8 Union (12-10) on Tuesday, 86-69 to No. 4 Booker T. Washington (12-8) on Thursday, and 57-34 to No. 5 Owasso (13-8) on Friday.

The Sandites led Union 22-20 at halftime on Senior Night but the RedHawks got hot in the third quarter for a 42-35 lead before starting the fourth on a 19-0 run. Michael Foster, Alijah Roper, and Kade Holland scored 8 apiece.

Thursday was a similar affair as the Sandites led the Hornets 36-34 late in the second quarter before Washington went on a 12-0 run to enter the half with a double-digit advantage that it never relinquished. Kooper Kelly scored 16, Holland 12, and Khalil Allen had 10.

On Owasso’s Senior Night the Rams jumped out to a 19-2 first-quarter lead and never trailed. Blake Johnson, Zane Fueshko, and Sam Hayes scored 6 apiece to lead the Sandites.

The boys ended the season with a 3-11 record in conference action, an improvement over the past two one-win seasons in the brutally tough Frontier Valley.

Sand Springs will return to action Friday at the Bixby Regionals with a first-round elimination game against No. 6 Moore (16-6).

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

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.