Alijah Roper Leads Sandites to Senior Night Win over Bartlesville

Alijah Roper has been having a bit of a quiet season offensively, but that changed last Tuesday night as the senior went off for a game-high 21 points in a 66-53 Senior Night win over Bartlesville (3-19).

“We didn’t get the outcome that we wanted,” said Roper. “We wish we could have played our seniors the whole fourth quarter…but we came out with the win and just persevered.”

The No. 13 ranked Sandites (15-8) previously beat Bartlesville 77-50 in January but the Bruins never quite let Sand Springs pull away in the rematch, shooting 12-of-26 from three-point range to keep things close.

“The seniors got to start so I was happy for them,” said head coach Eric Savage. “I wish all of them could have scored or got more playing time, but Bartlesville shot the ball really well tonight.”

“That kept the game close and kept them in striking distance. It seemed like every time we pulled away a little bit they had a three-point answer.”

Despite the hot hands from the Bruins, Roper led all scorers, going 4-of-5 from three-point range in the first half in a duel with Riley Duony, who had 20 for Bartlesville.

“I feel like I got a little more confidence,” said Roper. “I haven’t shot the best this season, so that helps a lot. It was good energy all night, Senior Night, so I had fun.”

Bartlesville jumped out to a 6-3 lead after the Sandites started all their seniors instead of their typical lineup, but after swapping in some of the usual suspects, the Sandites went on a 13-0 run and never trailed again.

The home team took an 18-12 lead into the second quarter but Bartlesville tied it up at 22-22 on a three-pointer from Trae Collins at the 3:12 mark.

From there it was all Sandites, with back-to-back treys from Roper kicking off a 13-2 run to end the half. Roper scored a buzzer-beater through contact from Duony and converted the four-point play to make it 35-24.

Duony and Collins hit a pair of threes to cut it to 37-30 early in the third quarter but the Sandites got hot late in the quarter once again and took a 52-35 advantage into the fourth.

Despite never allowing Bartlesville back within striking distance, the Sandites also never pulled away enough to run their bench till late in the quarter.

“We didn’t play the best in the second half,” said Roper. “We just kept letting them knock down shots and not playing the greatest defense, but we put up a win.”

“They’re well coached,” added Savage. “They play hard and they didn’t give us anything easy, they made us earn our baskets.”

Roper’s 21 points were just a bucket shy of his career-high 23 in last year’s season finale. Joining him in double-digits were juniors Khalil Allen with 15 and Deke Thompson with 12.

“It was fun playing with my best friends, starting with the seniors who I’ve been playing with all these years,” said Roper. “It was a good experience.”

Sand Springs will return to action Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against Southmoore (10-12) in the first round of the Regional playoff at Choctaw.

The Sandites will be looking for their first playoff win since 2021, but thanks to a new postseason format this year, the first game won’t be an elimination game. The winner will play at 7:30 p.m. on Friday while the loser will play at 6:00 p.m. in an elimination game.

CPHS 66 BHS 53

1Q: CPHS 18-12.
2Q: CPHS 17-12.
3Q: CPHS 17-11.
4Q: BHS 18-14.
Free Throws: CPHS 17-of-28, BHS 1-of-6.
Field Goals: CPHS 21-of-44, BHS 20-of-44.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 11, BHS 5.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 17, BHS 12.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 28, BHS 17.
Steals: CPHS 6, BHS 3.
Blocks: CPHS 4, BHS 1.
Fouls: CPHS 13, BHS 20.

Sand Springs Stats

Points: Roper 21, Allen 15, Thompson 12, Evans 9, Mitchell 3, Kelly 2, Johnson 2.
Offensive Rebounds: Evans 3, Johnson 2, Allen 2, Roper 1, Thompson 1, Kelly 1, Fueshko 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Thompson 3, Allen 3, Evans 3, Roper 2, Kelly 2, Mitchell 1, Collins 1, Johnson 1, Fueshko 1.
Total Rebounds: Evans 6, Allen 5, Thompson 4, Roper 3, Kelly 3, Johnson 3, Fueshko 2, Mitchell 1, Collins 1.
Steals: Thompson 3, Evans 2, Allen 1.
Assists: Roper 3, Allen 2, Mitchell 1, Thompson 1.
Blocks: Thompson 2, Kelly 1, Evans 1.
Fouls: Mitchell 3, Johnson 3, Allen 2, Evans 2, Fueshko 2, Collins 1.

Bartlesville Stats

Points: Duony 20, Collins 13, Clark 12, Veit 6, Robertson 2.
Fouls: Veit 4, Robertson 3, Wilson 3, Collins 3, Clark 2, Duony 2, Duncan 2, Zervus 1.