Junior forward Reinier Strobos had a game-high 11 points, but the Canyon defense was the real star of the game, as the Cougars forced countless turnovers in a 52-36 win over Floresville on Friday night.
“We played good defense all night and we really made them work for every point tonight,” Canyon coach Brad Lacey said. “I thought we rebounded the ball well, but we need to be more crisp on offense.”
Leading 13-11 after the first quarter, Canyon junior Cody Karrer scored six straight points to ignite a 20-5 second quarter run that gave the Cougars all the momentum they would need, as they walked into the locker room with a 33-16 halftime advantage.
Karrer scored all 10 of his points in the second quarter, while Strobos had a beautiful dunk and turnaround jumper during the run, while the Cougar defense stifled the Tigers by playing solid man-to-man.
Lacey, who is in his first season at the helm for the Cougars, wanted to see improvement from his team after Tuesday’s 67-34 opening night win over Canyon Lake.
“I thought we played unselfish on offense and we made it work tonight,” Lacey said. “I thought we played better tonight early in the game. We came out sluggish against Canyon Lake and I wanted to see some intensity from the start. We just need to sustain that intensity for the entire game.”
Senior Max Harford scored 10 points and center Andrew Poulter came off the bench to score six of his nine points to open the third quarter scoring for the Cougars.
Canyon led 45-28 after three quarters before a sloppy fourth ended in the margin of victory.
The Cougars are back on the court Monday at 7 p.m. when they travel to face Edison in their first road game of the season.
Lackland Stacey 47,Canyon Lake 41
Tanner Jones led the Hawks with 11 points, but Lackland Stacey came away with a 47-41 win over Canyon Lake on Friday night.
Canyon Lake’s Russell Krieg had eight points and Cole Seitz chipped in six in the loss.
“Tanner, Russell and Cole had solid games at both ends of the floor for us tonight,” Canyon Lake coach Jeff Maynard said.
The trio took five charges and had 13 rebounds combined for the Hawks, who are back on the court today at the Lockhard Tournament.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
New Braunfels 57, Wylie 50
MARBLE FALLS — New Braunfels improved its record to 7-1 with a 57-50 win over Wylie in the second round of the Marble Falls Invitational on Friday.
Heather Hewitt led the way with 16 points and Becca Knudson had 15 points, while Katie Hittle and Sophie Thomas had 13 and eight points, respectively.
The Unicorns play Leander today at 10:30 a.m. in the tournament semifinals.
Canyon Lake 67, Lackland Stacey 38
Jessica McMurray scored 17 points and Tiffany Arredondo had 12 points in Canyon Lake’s 67-38 win over Lackland Stacey on Friday.
Megan Browning had seven points and three other players chipped in six points in the victory.
On Tuesday night, the Lady Hawks beat Lockhart 58-50 with McMurray leading the charge with 17 points and Arredondo with 12 points in the win.
Canyon Lake hosts Blanco at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.
Cougarettes 48, Sam Houston 45 2OT
SAN ANTONIO — Taylor Billingsley had a game-high 15 points and Chamaya Turner scored 12 points to lift Canyon to a 48-45 double-overtime win over Sam Houston at the SAISD Tournament in San Antonio on Friday.
Sharris Vader chipped in nine points for the Cougarettes.
