Sandites Maul Muskogee 75-59 in Regional Consolation Finals

For the first time since 2021, the Charles Page High School boys basketball team is headed to the Area playoffs after a 75-59 victory over Muskogee Saturday night at the UMAC.

“It feels great after all the things we’ve been through over the past two years,” said junior forward Blake Johnson.

“We’ve had rough years, maybe not the best talent, but this year we’ve had the talent. We know what we can do. We have coach Savage coaching us hard. We knew we’ve just got to buy in and we can get to where we want.”

The path to Area was even tougher this year thanks to a new postseason format. After beating Southmoore 73-52 on Thursday, in years past the Sandites would have already clinched an Area appearance even though they lost 61-55 to Choctaw in the Regional Championship game on Friday. But this year the OSSAA added a Regional consolation bracket, making the road to State even tougher.

“We’re excited,” said head coach Eric Savage. “We thought all along that we could get to this point and we’ve been striving to take that next step. We’re thrilled to still have the opportunity.”

The No. 13 ranked Sandites (17-9) stormed out to a 17-2 lead against the Roughers (10-16) before Muskogee went on a run of its own and cut it to 22-12 at the end of the first quarter.

Muskogee actually won the second quarter, ending the half on an 11-3 run to make it 34-28 at the buzzer.

“They’re a prideful team,” said Savage. “They kept playing hard and jumping into press and getting up in us. We didn’t adjust to it too well, but we kept our composure and were able to settle down.”

Sand Springs went to its bench early, with 10 different players seeing action in the first half.

“We knew we’d have to go to our bench with the way Muskogee plays you,” said Savage. “Any depth that you can have and support offensively or defensively off the bench this time of year is huge.”

The teams traded blows early in the third quarter but the Sandites finally started to pull away down the stretch, closing on a 10-2 run and never again let Muskogee back within 10 points.

“I thought we really controlled the second half for the most part and didn’t get sped up as much as we did there in the second quarter,” said Savage.

Deke Thompson led all scorers with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 5 assists. The junior Jenks transfer has been a big part of this year’s success in both the regular season and postseason, averaging 19.2 points per game.

“He’s an overall leader of the team,” said Savage. “He was good driving the ball, passing off, and breaking the press tonight. He’s just a welcome player that’s heightened our level of play.”

Khalil Allen was also consistent force throughout the game for Sand Springs, shooting 7-of-8 for 14 points, 10 of which came in the second half.

Allen, Johnson, and Evans have formed a three-headed monster in the paint this year and combined for 24 points and 15 rebounds against Muskogee.

“Energy matches energy,” said Allen. “We just go out there and go strong.”

“One thing we’re really good at is we coach each other,” added Johnson. “We see each other, we see our mistakes…we sharpen each other.”

Sand Springs opened the postseason with a win over Southmoore (11-13) behind 15 points from Allen, 14 from Kason Evans, 13 from Thompson, and 11 from Kooper Kelly.

In the next game, however, the Sandites couldn’t quite complete the comeback against Choctaw after falling behind by 14 points in the third quarter. Thompson scored 19 points and Allen added 14 in the loss.

Sand Springs will return to action Friday at a time and location to be decided in a rematch with Southmoore. The Sabercats clawed their way to a regional consolation title after winning 88-36 against U.S. Grant and 74-65 against Bixby.

“I’d rather not have to play somebody for the second time in two weeks, but we’re happy to be playing,” said Savage.

CPHS 75 MHS 59

1Q: CPHS 22-12.
2Q: MHS 16-12.
3Q: CPHS 18-11.
4Q: CPHS 23-20.
Free Throws: CPHS 13-of-20, MHS 13-of-20.
Field Goals: CPHS 29-of-55, MHS 20-of-39.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 14, MHS 4.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 17, MHS 8.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 31, MHS 12.
Steals: CPHS 12, MHS 8.
Blocks: CPHS 1, MHS 1.
Fouls: CPHS 18, MHS 22.

Sand Springs Stats

Points: Thompson 23, Kelly 14, Allen 14, Johnson 6, Mitchell 5, Shope 5, Evans 4, K. Smith 3, T. Smith 1.
Offensive Rebounds: Johnson 4, Thompson 3, Allen 3, Evans 2, Mitchell 1, K. Smith 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Johnson 4, Shope 3, Roper 2, Kelly 2, Thompson 2, Allen 1, Evans 1, T. Smith 1, Fueshko 1.
Total Rebounds: Johnson 8, Thompson 5, Allen 4, Evans 3, Shope 3, Roper 2, Kelly 2, Mitchell 1, K. Smith 1, Fueshko 1, T. Smith 1.
Steals: Thompson 3, Roper 2, Mitchell 2, Allen 2, Evans 1, K. Smith 1, Fueshko 1.
Assists: Thompson 5, Roper 2, Allen 2, Fueshko 2, Mitchell 1, Evans 1, Johnson 1.
Blocks: Johnson 1.
Fouls: Evans 4, Roper 3, Allen 2, Thompson 2, K. Smith 2, Johnson 2, Mitchell 1, Kelly 1, Shope 1.

Muskogee Stats

Points: James 16, Thornton 13, Wilkerson 12, Webber 9, #10 5, Payne 2, Harvey 2.
Fouls: Thornton 4, Webber 4, James 4, Payne 3, Wilkerson 3, Beasley 3, Shinault 1.

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.

Sandites Beat Enid, Putnam City, and U.S. Grant in Perfect Week

A 77-23 rout of U.S. Grant capped a perfect week for the Charles Page High School boys’ basketball team (13-6, 5-5), which has now won three in a row since a 61-43 loss to No. 2 Owasso last Friday.

All 14 varsity players saw substantial playing time in the Saturday afternoon district makeup game that easily could have eclipsed 100 points had the Sandites not limited themselves to their third string for the entirety of the fourth quarter.

“We got back late last night after a tough win on the road,” said head coach Eric Savage. “We just knew we had to come out early with some emotion and some intensity. Didn’t want to be flat.”

“I thought we came out and shot the ball well early and everybody got off to a good start, then we were able to get up and down the lineup and give everybody some significant minutes today.”

Kason Evans scored back-to-back buckets to open the game and Deke Thompson added a trey for a 7-0 lead before Dontay Phillips got the visitors on the board. The Sandites responded with a 17-0 run and took a 29-4 advantage into the second quarter.

After Phillips’s second bucket late in the first, Sand Springs went on a 24-0 streak and ultimately took a 58-7 lead into halftime.

Things slowed down in the second half, but the Sandites still got 28 points off their bench and 12 different players entered the scorebook.

“They show up every day and they’re putting in as much time as the starters and they’re working just as hard,” said Savage. “It’s great to be able to reward them with some playing time when we get the opportunity.”

Thompson led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Evans with 11 as the only other Sandite in double digits. Khalil Allen had the best all-around performance with 7 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals, 4 assists, and 4 blocks.

Zane Fueshko, usually the first man off the bench, got the start after strong performances at Putnam City on Friday.

Allen scored 11 and Fueshko added 10 in the 51-34 district road win, trailing only Thompson, who had 22.

“(Zane) gave us a spark,” said Savage. “He’s been shooting the ball really well and I just wanted to kind of reward him for that.”

Putnam City led early, but the Sandites went on a 15-0 run from the first into the second and led 21-18 at halftime. Sand Springs held the Pirates to only two points in the third quarter and maintained a comfortable lead through the fourth.

“It was a rowdy environment,” said Savage. “We had the band right behind us. We jumped out early and then it was a little sluggish there in the second quarter.”

“We really just wanted to keep playing defense and were finally able to get some stops and run-outs and created a little space, then just kind of maintained it from there.”

Last Friday, Thompson went off for 28 points and 7 rebounds in a loss to Owasso (16-3, 9-1) that was far closer than the final score.

The Sandites only trailed 24-23 at halftime and 40-31 to open the fourth quarter before the Rams finally pulled away behind 16 points from Jax Kerr and 20 from Jalen Montonati.

But on Tuesday they bounced back with a 65-55 Homecoming win over Enid (8-9, 4-5) to pay back a December loss.

Thompson scored 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists, followed by Kooper Kelly with 12 points and Evans with 12 points and 8 boards.

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday with a district home game against No. 4 Union (18-2, 10-1). They previously fell to the RedHawks 76-72 and 71-51 in January.

“We have a tough week ahead,” said Savage. “We’ve got our work cut out for us. We’ll go get some rest and try to put a good game plan together and just go compete.”

“Hopefully being home will maybe give us a little edge, but they’ve got some mountain guys down there and they can play both ways. They’re extremely athletic and we’ll just have to do our best to try and find a way to score with them.”

Sandite Boys Fall 71-50 at Union, Will Host Owasso Friday

Coming off a close 76-72 loss in the Union tournament semifinals, all eyes were on Sand Springs in Tuesday’s district rematch. Unfortunately for the black and gold faithful, there was no upset to be had.

No. 14 Charles Page High School (10-5, 2-4) hung close till halfway through the fourth quarter before No. 4 Union (14-2, 6-1) finally pulled away with a final score of 71-51.

“Their physicality wore us down; that was the main thing,” said head coach Eric Savage. “We didn’t do a good job of adjusting.”

The Sandites led by as much as 14-10 in the first quarter before Union closed it on a 5-0 run for the lead. Zane Fueshko hit a three-pointer to open the second quarter, but that would be the last lead of the game for Sand Springs.

By halftime the RedHawks were on top 29-24, a double-digit difference from Friday’s 41-39 first-half shootout.

“Both teams shot the ball really well last week and both teams made adjustments for this game,” said Savage. “It was a more slow-paced game with a little more defense involved, at least through the first three quarters. Defensive game plan for both teams. They wore us down and we didn’t adjust to their physicality.”

The third quarter started back and forth with the visitors only trailing 40-35 after a three-point play from Deke Thompson.

Khalil Allen drew his fourth foul with 1:58 left in the third and Alijah Roper took a tumble into the bleachers that shook him up, though he returned to the game not long after.

The home team closed on a 9-2 run and took that momentum with a double-digit lead into the fourth.

Sand Springs mostly hung with the RedHawks and cut it as close as 55-46 after back-to-back buckets from Kason Evans and Allen, but Union rallied with a 14-1 run from there to put the game out of reach before Fueshko hit a three to break up the run.

Evans led the Sandites with 13 points and 6 rebounds, but was the only Sandite in double digits.

Union was led by Miles Flemons, a 6’8 division I recruit, with 18 points, followed by Dalen Fuller with 12 points and Justin Chappelle with 11.

The Sandites were at a distinct size disadvantage in the game with the average Union starter having more than four inches on the average Sandite starter.

“We’re making progress,” said Savage, whose team has gone 10-2 since an 0-3 start to the season.

“You go on the road and it’s hard to win. You’ve got a top-five team for the second time. We’ll see them again at our place and see if we can change the results. We’re going to keep fighting but we didn’t have our best tonight and again, they wore us down. They’re tough to guard inside.”

Sand Springs’ schedule wont get any easier as it hosts No. 2 Owasso (14-2, 7-0) Friday at 8:00 p.m. in a rematch of a 67-48 loss from December. The Rams are ranked 80th in the nation by MaxPreps.

“Number two team in the state coming in,” said Savage. “One or two, depending on who you ask. And definitely one of the top players in the state. We’ve just got to regroup after this, try to get our legs back, and hopefully being in the confines of the Ed Dubie will give us some energy playing in front of our fans. Should be a fun game.”

Union 71 CPHS 51

1Q: Union 15-14.
2Q: Union 14-10.
3Q: Union 20-13.
4Q: Union 22-14.
Free Throws: Union 14-of-24, CPHS 10-of-14.
Field Goals: Union 27-of-50, CPHS 18-of-41.
Offensive Rebounds: Union 6, CPHS 5.
Defensive Rebounds: Union 16, CPHS 13.
Total Rebounds: Union 22, CPHS 18.
Steals: Union 13, CPHS 4.
Blocks: Union 3, CPHS 1.
Fouls: Union 16, CPHS 24.

Sand Springs Stats

Scoring: Evans 13, Kelly 9, Johnson 8, Thompson 7, Allen 7, Fueshko 6, Shope 1.
Offensive Rebounds: Johnson 3, Thompson 1, Evans 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Evans 5, Kelly 2, Allen 2, Thompson 1, Johnson 1, Fueshko 1, Smith 1.
Total Rebounds: Evans 6, Johnson 4, Kelly 2, Thompson 2, Allen 2, Fueshko 1, Smith 1.
Steals: Kelly 2, Johnson 1, Evans 1.
Assists: Roper 3, Johnson 2, Allen 1.
Blocks: Allen 1.
Fouls: Allen 5, Thompson 3, Johnson 3, Evans 3, Young 3, Kelly 2, Fueshko 2, Roper 1, Mitchell 1, Shope 1.

Union Stats

Scoring: Flemons 18, Fuller 12, Chappelle 11, Gunn 9, Gilyard 6, Malham 5, Chaney-Jones 5, Madrid 4, Ugbah 1.
Fouls: Gunn 3, Madrid 3, Chappelle 3, Fuller 2, Flemons 2, Malham 2, Chaney-Jones 1.

Deke Thompson Has Career Night as Sandites Throttle KIPP 104-36

A career-night from Deke Thompson III was just the icing on the cake of the Sandites’ 104-36 beatdown of KIPP (1-10) in the final round of the Veterans Arena Invitational Saturday night at Tulsa Memorial.

The junior standout went off for 28 points, 11 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 assists to help Sand Springs (4-3) to the highest-scoring game and largest margin of victory in the Eric Savage era.

“My mindset every game is to go kill, go get a win,” said Thompson. My teammates did a really good job of finding me when I was open and when I had a hot hand, they did a really good job of coming back to me, so I’m thankful for them.”

The Sandites never trailed, jumping out to a 21-2 lead behind four first-quarter treys from Thompson. They led 29-9 after the first quarter and 51-15 at halftime.

”We played great defense together tonight,” said Thompson. “Savage made it known that we needed to guard up from the start, because the first few games we came in a little lackadaisical.”

The Sandites trailed Crossover Prep 26-22 on Friday before rebounding to a 98-47 win. But on Saturday they piled onto the Bulldogs hard and fast and never let off the gas.

Sand Springs had several impressive runs on the night, with double-digit scoring streaks of 18, 12, 11, 14, and 11 while smothering the Bulldogs defensively with 15 takeaways.

“I feel like whenever we want to play defense, we’re a really good, defensively sound team,” said Thompson. “We walked into that game (yesterday) knowing we were going to blow them out and it almost messed with us.”

Thompson hit his double-double just a minute and 25 seconds into the second half and didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter.

All 15 Sandites saw action and 14 made their way into the scorebook. Kason Evans had a career-high 17 points and 7 rebounds off the bench, followed by Khalil Allen with 10 points and 7 boards.

“We all got hot,” said Thompson. “It was fun. Our goal was to come in and go 3-0 in this tournament.”

Sand Springs is now on a four-game win streak following an 0-3 start to the season.

“We’re not even close to our full potential yet,” said Thompson. “Blake (Johnson) going down obviously hurt us to start. It slowed us down a little bit. We’re working to get our guys out of foul trouble. As we start the winter practices and finishing this season, I think we’ll get to rolling even better than we are now.”

The Sandites went undefeated for the sixth time in the festival’s eight-year history and for the second year in a row.

“I enjoy this tournament for a number of reasons,” said Savage, who coached at Memorial for 12 seasons before coming to Sand Springs.

“One, getting to come back and be around some familiar places and people and a lot of friends, but it also provides an early season opportunity to play a lot of guys in your roster.”

“Those first three games of the season, we only went seven or eight deep really. It’s just important to these guys to get some varsity action in a good atmosphere. It’s not every year we come over here and get three wins and this year we were able to.”

Sand Springs will return to action after the new year at the East Central Class in Ada. KIPP will play at the Idabel Winter Classic after Christmas.

CPHS 104 KIPP 36

1Q: CPHS 29-9.
2Q: CPHS 22-6.
3Q: CPHS 30-7.
4Q: CPHS 23-14.
Free Throws: CPHS 9-of-14, KIPP 7-of-17.
Field Goals: CPHS 43-of-79, KIPP 12-of-46.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 24, KIPP 5.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 28, KIPP 13.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 52, KIPP 18.
Steals: CPHS 15, KIPP 4.
Blocks: CPHS 2, KIPP 3.
Fouls: CPHS 16, KIPP 12.

Sand Springs Statistics

Points: Thompson 28, Evans 17, Allen 10, Kelly 9, Johnson 8, Fueshko 7, Roper 6, Betchan 4, Young 4, Collins 3, Shope 2, K. Smith 2, T. Smith 2, Ketcher 2.
Offensive Rebounds: Thompson 5, Evans 4, Allen 4, Johnson 3, Roper 1, Kelly 1, Mitchell 1, Shope 1, Fueshko 1, K. Smith 1, Ketcher 1, Collins 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Thompson 6, Allen 3, Evans 3, Shope 3, Kelly 2, Fueshko 2, Ketcher 2, Young 2, Johnson 1, Mitchell 1, K. Smith 1, T. Smith 1, Collins 1.
Total Rebounds: Thompson 11, Allen 7, Evans 7, Johnson 4, Shope 4, Fueshko 3, Kelly 3, Ketcher 3, Collins 2, Young 2, Mitchell 2, K. Smith 2, T. Smith 1, Roper 1.

KIPP Statistics

Points: Jones 14, Reynolds 8, Wallace 4, Ellis 4, Becknell 2, Payne 2, Taylor 2.
Fouls: Parker 4, Wallace 4, Taylor 3, Payne 1.

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.