Austin gets caught in Crane's trap

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:50AM

Crane's full-court press had Austin coach Dennis Laurincik asking his players, "Who was that pass to?" all night as the visiting Cougars defeated the Tigers 64-25 Tuesday night.

No. 15 Crane's full-court trap press and halfcourt trap press forced Austin (9-6, 0-5 Red-West) into 27 turnovers. The Cougars held Austin to just five points in the third quarter as they built a 46-22 lead.

"We're still trying to find our identity," said Crane coach Tim Anderson. "But we definitely do well when we're using our speed, pressuring and running on our opponents."

Lee Giles and Montrelle Halloms led Crane (10-2, 4-1) with 14 points each and Kieran Woods added 11 of his own. Woods, in his first season as the primary point guard, has impressed Anderson with his leadership this season.

"I think he's the best player in our conference," Anderson said. "He can do so many things for our team and he makes us a better team. I love going to war with him."

Woods had the highlight reel play of the game in the first quarter when he stole an errant pass, broke away on a fast break and threw down a thunderous one-handed dunk as he got fouled. Woods hit the free throw to give Crane a 10-2 lead.

On January 6, Crane lost 74-68 against Farragut after going just 21-for-36 from the free throw line. On Tuesday, the Cougars went 14-for-24 from the free throw line-an improvement, but the stat line still had Anderson unsatisfied.

"We missed 19 free throws against Farragut and lost by six so that's a big emphasis," Anderson said. "I tell our kids day in and day out that we have to focus on our free throws especially the way we attack the basket."

Devon Williams led Austin with 13 points.

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