The Austin Packers earned their second straight state tournament trip Friday night with a 52-43 overtime win over Red Wing in the Section 1AAA title game.
The Packers built an early 12-5 lead before an extended scoring drought allowed the Wingers to close the gap and take a 14-12 lead. It was a four-point Packer lead at halftime, and the Packers maintained a slight edge for virtually all of the game, but a Red Wing put-back with five seconds left in regulation tied the score at 40. A Red Wing free throw gave them a one-point lead early in the four-minute extra period, but the Packers closed on 13-2 run for the win.
Zach Wessels led the Packer scoring with 19 points, while Joe Aase scored 18, Tom Aase 7, Ajuda Nywesh 4, Collin Weisert 3 and Bret Lukes 1.
See the stories in the Austin Daily Herald, Rochester Post-Bulletin, Red Wing Republican-Eagle and TV coverage on KAAL and KTTC. It was the 300th career win for Packer Coach Kris Fadness.
Here are the highlights:
The Packers begin MSHSL State Tournament play Wednesday at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus. The top five teams will be seeded, with #4 and #5 facing each other and the top three seeds drawing one of the other teams at random. The bracket will be filled in later today.
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