CPHS Basketball: Sandites fall 66-60 to No. 1 Booker T. Washington - presented by Inkwell Printing

Down by three points with 14.6 seconds left to play, Davon Richardson scored through contact and the Catoosa Activity Center erupted with excitement. Unfortunately for Sand Springs, the University of Central Oklahoma-committed senior was called for charging and the storybook comeback wouldn’t come to pass.

The Class 6A No. 9 ranked Charles Page High School boys basketball team (18-7) won the second half against No. 1 Booker T. Washington (20-5) Friday night in the Area Championship, but was unable to overcome a lopsided second period and fell 66-60. The Washington Hornets will advance to the State Tournament, while the Sandites will get a second chance in the Area Consolation bracket Saturday at 6:30 p.m. 

Coverage of the Sandite postseason is brought to you in partnership with Inkwell Printing, the official provider of all Sand Springs athletic gear. Inkwell offers affordable jerseys, spirit wear, and promotional merchandise with fast turnaround and top quality.

Richardson and Marlo Fox drained threes on their first two possessions, then Fox scored two on a steal from Richardson for an 8-0 lead before Kameron Parker got the Hornets on the board with a three. Richardson added two from the charity stripe, but Kansas-commit Bryce Thompson and Oklahoma-commit Trey Phipps scored five on back to back steals. Fox added a second three-pointer, but Washington went on a seven point run and took their first lead on a three from Phipps. Josh Minney hit a layup to end the first quarter 15-15. 

Ijai Johnson and Richardson traded threes to open the second quarter, but the Hornets went on a nine point run before Fox broke it up with a three. Phipps rattled off a trio of free throws, then Jalen Breath and Phipps hit layups for the 34-21 advantage. Fox broke up that run with a reverse layup, Thompson scored two more, then Fox scored two from the stripe to end the half down 36-25. 

The Sandites were a perfect 5-of-5 on three pointers in the first half and outshot the Hornets all around, but Washington had the Sandites drastically outsized in the paint and came away with six offensive rebounds while giving up none, and won the steal battle seven to two.

Sand Springs narrowly won a back and forth third period after a four point run from Minney cut it to 49-39. A five point Sandite streak in the fourth got them as close as 54-47, but a three from Johnson and a dunk from Breath gave the Hornets a twelve-point lead entering the final two minutes. Sand Springs wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Richardson scored two on a steal from Savage, Thompson hit a free throw, then the Sandites went on a run. Fox hit two free throws, then Richardson scored back to back putbacks on steals from Savage and Minney to make it 60-55 with 44 seconds left. 

Savage sent Phipps to the line and the Hornet missed his shot. Minney rebounded and Richardson drew a foul and sank two to make it 60-57. Minney sent Thompson to the line for two and he made both, but Breath fouled Savage on a three and the Sandite hit all three to make it 62-60.

Richardson sent Thompson to the line for one, and it looked like he would have a shot to tie the game up when he scored through contact. But the basket was waved off for charging and he was ejected for his fifth foul as the Sandites’ final hopes evaporated. Phipps and Thompson added three more free throws to end the game.

Thompson led all scorers with 23 points, closely followed by Richardson with 21 points and 10 rebounds for his tenth double-double of the season. Fox and Phipps scored 19 apiece, Minney added 13 for the Sandites and Johnson had 10 for the Hornets.

Sand Springs will return to action Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against the winner of No. 13 Putnam City North (14-9) vs. No. 18 Owasso (12-13). Catoosa High School is located at 2000 South Cherokee Street.

BTW 66 CPHS 60
1Q: Tied 15-15.
2Q: BTW 21-10.
3Q: CPHS 14-13.
4Q: CPHS 21-17.

Free Throws: BTW 13-of-18, CPHS 14-of-15.
Field Goals: BTW 22-of-45, CPHS 20-of-42.
Offensive Rebounds: BTW 6, CPHS 6.
Defensive Rebounds: BTW 16, CPHS 15.
Total Rebounds: BTW 22, CPHS 21.
Steals: BTW 9, CPHS 8.
Blocks: BTW 4, CPHS 2.
Fouls: BTW 11, CPHS 18.

(Sand Springs stats)
Scoring: Richardson 21, Fox 19, Minney 13, Savage 5, Oakley 2.
Offensive Rebounds: Richardson 5, Minney 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Minney 6, Richardson 5, Savage 2, Fox 1, Oakley 1.
Total Rebounds: Richardson 10, Minney 7, Savage 2, Fox 1, Oakley 1.
Steals: Richardson 5, Savage 2, Minney 1.
Assists: Richardson 2.
Blocks: Richardson 1, Oakley 1.
Fouls: Richardson 5, Savage 4, Fox 3, Minney 2, Clark 2, Oakley 1, Askew 1.

(Washington partial stats)
Scoring: Thompson 23, Phipps 19, Johnson 10, Breath 8, Parker 6.
Fouls: Thompson 4, Parker 2, Phipps 2, Breath 2, Johnson 1.