SAND SPRINGS — The Charles Page High School Sandites didn’t get the outcomes they wanted on the hardwood last week. They did, however, get a very clear read on where they stand — and where they’re headed.
The Sandites walked into a buzzsaw at Owasso High School last Tuesday, then came home three nights later and traded punches with Union High School. Both were losses, yes — nights that told the same story in different voices: this team competes, even when the margins are unforgiving.
At Owasso
In Owasso, the Sandites ran straight into a secondquarter storm and never quite escaped. Owasso poured in 21 points in the frame, fueled by a scorching stretch from Ram Jalen Montonati, who caught fire and hit four threes in that quarter alone and finished with 30 on the night. By halftime, Sand Springs was chasing the game.
That said, the Sandites kept playing basketball.
Kruz Smith led the way with 13 points, scoring in every quarter and going a perfect 2-for-2 at the freethrow line. David Price found his rhythm after halftime, knocking down two thirdquarter threes on his way to seven points. Ge’Vauri Hill added six, while Sand Springs continued to rotate bodies despite foul trouble piling up early.
Owasso’s interior presence, especially M. J. Milton with 19 points inside, made the gap feel wider than it really was. The final read, 85-43, but the film shows a Sand Springs team that never stopped running its sets or contesting shots — even when the grade got steep.
Vs Union
Three nights later, the Sandites were back home, and the energy felt different.
Union arrived with size, discipline, and a game plan centered around pounding the paint — and it worked. Union’s Miles Flemons controlled the interior and finished with 21 points, repeatedly forcing Sand Springs to collapse and choose between help and shooters. Union won the third quarter 20-10, the decisive stretch in a 56-40 final.
But this one looked like a basketball game throughout. Kruz Smith again paced the Sandites with 14 points, mixing drives, midrange looks, and trips to the line. Teric Smith delivered a spark in the first quarter, burying three triples and finishing with 11 before foul trouble caught up to him. Grady Harris closed strong with seven points, including a pair of late threes that kept the home crowd engaged until the final horn.
Head coach Eric Savage summed it up simply afterward: “We lost both games last week to topranked teams.”
Perspective matters.
These weren’t bad losses. They were measuring sticks. Owasso showed what happens when shooters heat up. Union showed how physical control inside can tilt a game. Sand Springs knows exactly where put in the work — and what kind of team it can be when the ball tips at home this week.
Sand Springs sits at 9-9 overall and 5-5 in district play, good for fourth place, with home games looming against 2-12 Enid and 1-17 Ponca City — this could be the kind of week that will recalibrate a season.