Class 4A No. 2 ranked Heritage Hall (8-0) won their 26th-straight game Saturday night at the Duncan Holiday Invitational, edging out 6A No. 8 Sand Springs 64-57 in the tournament finals. The Sandites dropped to 9-2 on the season and came in Runner-Up for the second time in three years.

Sand Springs led by one at the half and only trailed by two to start the final stretch before the defending State Champions finally pulled away.

Both of the Sandites’ losses this season came with missing starters against Championship-caliber teams, and they are undefeated in both Frontier Valley Conference and Class 6A action. Josh Minney was absent during Saturday’s seven-point loss. The 6’4” junior averages 9.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest this season and is a crucial cog in the vertically-challenged Sand Springs machine.

The Chargers took a 12-10 lead in the first quarter with eight points from Trey Alexander, a sophomore with more than a dozen NCAA Division I offers. Senior forward Will McDonald contributed four points in the stanza. Four Sandites made it on the board in that period.

The Heritage offense stalled out in the second period with only three field goals, while junior standout Davon Richardson scored eight points for a thirteen-point first half. Cale Savage scored a three-pointer and Daren Hawkins added two for the 23-22 advantage.

Sand Springs scored seventeen points in both the third and fourth periods, but the Chargers scored twenty in the third and 22 in the fourth. Jack Spanier got hot in the third with two three-pointers, but McDonald and Alexander were the bulk of the Charger offense, combining for 49 points.

Foul trouble was a heavy contributor to the loss as the Sandites out-fouled the Chargers 24-17. Both Richardson and 6’6” sophomore Jaeden Hurd fouled out in the fourth period, but not before scoring seven points apiece in the second half.

Alexander led all scorers with 25, followed by McDonald with 24, but only five Chargers made their way into the scorebook. Six Sandites put points on the board, led by Richardson with twenty and Savage with fourteen.

Sand Springs will kick off the new year with a return to Conference action, taking on Bixby (1-4, 0-3) Friday at 8:00 p.m. at the Ed Dubie Field House. The Sandites lead the Frontier at 4-0 thus far.

HH 64 CPHS 57
1Q: HH 12-10
2Q: CPHS 13-10
3Q: HH 20-17
4Q: HH 22-17
Free Throws: CPHS 15-of-20, HH 20-of-28.
Fouls: HH 17, CPHS 24.

Scoring:
(Sand Springs) Richardson 20, Savage 14, Fox 8, Hurd 7, Durkee 6, Hawkins 2.
(Heritage Hall) Alexander 25, McDonald 24, Spanier 6, McLaughlin 5, Swingle 4.