Packer Fast Break Club

The Austin boys used swarming defense and solid offensive execution to take care of Faribault on Wednesday with a final score of 60-17.

The Packers raced to a 20-4 lead and stretched it to 45-8 at halftime. The starters sat out the second half, but the Packers still outscored the Falcons 15-9, with the last 9 minutes played in running time because of the 40-point margin.

Joe Aase led the Packers with 16 points, while Zach Wessels added 14, Collin Weisert 7, Bret Lukes 5, Goliath Oboyo and Curtis Oberbroeckling 4, Tom Aase 3 and Ryan Larson, Nathan Schwab, Ajuda Nywesh and Ryan Synoground 2 each.

Here are the highlights:

The Packers host Winona on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the semifinals of Section 1AAA, with the winner going on to Mayo Civic Center to play for a trip to the State Tournament.

As expected, the 20-5 Austin Packers received the top seed in the Section 1AAA Boys Basketball tournament. New Prague (17-9) got the second seed and Kasson-Mantorville (21-5) was third. Here is the complete bracket and schedule. The first two rounds will be hosted by the higher seeds, with the finals to be held a week from Friday at Mayo Civic Center.

Austin hosts #8 seed Faribault (1-25) Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The atmosphere was festive at a packed Owatonna High School gym Friday night as a large contingent from Austin accompanied the Packers for the first-place showdown against the Huskies. The Owatonna Peoples Press tweeted:

Huge crowd here for this one. Austin has the biggest visiting student section ive seen here in a long time.

Austin held the lead for most of the game, taking a 20-15 halftime lead and stretching it to 26-19 about halfway through the second half, but Owatonna outscored the Packers 20-8 the rest of the way en route to a 39-34 win.

The Packers are now a half-game behind the Huskies and in sole possession of second place, a full game ahead of Mankato East, 66-65 winners over Rohcester Century Friday night.

Joe Aase had 11 points for the Packers on Friday, while Zach Wessels had 8, Zach Vierkandt 7, Tom Aase and Bret Lukes 3 each and Nate Schwab 2.

Here are the video highlights. The reference to the second-half charging call on Goliath Oboyo might be a little overstated, but it was clearly a momentum changer. Instead of the Packers being up 22-17 and shooting a free throw, the basket was wiped off and the Huskies scored to come within a point at 20-19.

The Packers return to action Tuesday night at Albert Lea, where they look to complete their sixth straight season sweep of the Tigers. See Albert Lea Tribune sports editor Andrew Dyrdal’s excellent review of the last decade of the Albert Lea-Austin rivalry: Red, black & blue.

You may be hearing the faint sounds of basketballs bouncing on the court.  That is the sound of boys from Austin High School loosening up and refining their basketball skills.  It is not unusual to see more than a dozen guys playing pick up games at Ove Berven.  The weight room is not an unfamiliar place either.  The guys will be bigger and faster this year due to their own diligence of effort in staying in shape year-round. 

Dust off your stadium cushions and join the guys in their first intra-squad scrimmage on December 1st (time yet to be announced) at Austin High School.  It will be a chance to meet the players of this year’s squad, followed by dinner in the Austin High School cafeteria.  Come and get an autograph from your favorite player!

Their first game is a non-conference game against Saint Louis Park at 3:30 pm on Saturday, December 8th.  It’s a great day to be a Packer!  See you there!