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.
