Packers fade late against third-ranked Washburn

4 Feb

The Packers played Minneapolis Washburn tough for 32 minutes on Saturday, trailing the Millers 70-66 with four minutes remaining, before a late Washburn run fueled by a gambling Packers defense stretched the final margin to 86-67.

It was a seesaw affair during the first half, as the Packers lead 36-31 with 2:40 to play. But the Millers closed the half on a 10-1 run to take at 41-37 lead into the intermission.

Joe Aase led the Packers with 23 points (18 in the first half), while Zach Wessels added 18, Tom Aase and Nate Schwab 7 each, Zach Vierkandt 6, Bret Lukes 4 and Collin Weisert 2.

See the Austin Daily Herald story.

Here are the video highlights:

The Packers return to action at home Thursday against Mankato West.

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Packers rout Rochester Mayo

4 Feb

The Austin Packers notched their 13th win of the season last night as they raced to a 49-21 halftime lead on the way to a 78-47 home win over Rochester Mayo.

The win avenged a 53-5o loss Dec. 16 to the Spartans and kept the Packers home record perfect at 7-0.

Joe Aase led the Packers in scoring with 28 points, while Tom Aase added 16 (including a pair of first-half dunks) and Zach Wessels scored 10.Goliath Oboyo had 7 points, Nate Schwab and Bret Lukes 5 each, and Zach Vierkandt, Ajuda Nywesh and Curtis Oberbroeckling 2 apiece.

Here are the video highlights:

See the story in the Austin Daily Herald.

The seventh-ranked Packers, 13-4 on the year, face another big game today as they travel to Minneapolis to face Washburn, currently 16-2 and ranked third in the state.

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Packers Top Tigers 79-39

31 Jan

Only in Albert Lea: The "Zamboni" for sweeping

Albert Lea took at 2-0 lead Tuesday night, but then Austin went on a 23-0 run and never looked back as they cruised to a 79-39 win.

Joe Aase led the Packers in scoring with 25 points, while Zach Wessels had 16, Tom Aase 8, Tommy Olmsted 7, Goliath Oboyo, Nate Schwab and Zach Vierkandt 5, Bret Lukes and Collin Weisert 3 and Ryan Larson 2.

See the stories in the Albert Lea Tribune, Austin Daily Herald and Austin Post-Bulletin.

Let’s go to the highlights:

The Packers will be looking to avenge an early season loss at Rochester Mayo when they host the Spartans on Friday night. Then they travel to Minneapolis Washburn Saturday for a matchup with the Millers, who are also ranked in the top 10 in Class AAA. The Packers are currently #8 while Washburn is #3.

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Packers drop close one at Owatonna

28 Jan

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.

Packers win in OT at Mankato East

25 Jan

The Austin boys completed the season sweep of Mankato East Tuesday night with a 70-58 overtime win over Mankato East.The Packers got off to a slow start, trailing 12-5 early, but came back to grab a 22-21 lead at halftime. They built a 50-42 lead with five minutes to go, but a desperation three-pointer from half court sent the contest into overtime.

Joe Aase led the Packers in scoring with 24 points, while  Zach Wessels had 17, Goliath Oboyo 11, Tom Aase and Nate Schwab 6 each, Zach Vierkandt 4 and Bret Lukes 2.

Here are the highlights, including the half-court shot that sent the game to overtime:

See the coverage in the Austin Daily Herald and Mankato Free Press.

The road win boosts the Packers to 11-3 overall and 8-1 in the Big Nine and into sole possession (for now) of first place, a half game ahead of Owatonna, which lost in non-conference action Tuesday night at metro power Eden Prairie, which was ranked 7th in Class AAAA, in double overtime.

In the only other game involving a Big Nine team last night, Mankato West pulled out a one-point win over Fairmont.

The Packers travel to Owatonna Friday night to face the 12-3 Huskies for the first time and with the conference lead on the line.

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