Austin lost a close one to 7th-ranked Minneapolis Washburn Thursday night, dropping a 57-53 contest.
Plagued by foul trouble in the first half, the Packer boys hung tough against the Millers , trailing just 26-25 at halftime. The Pack got off to a strong start in the second half, building a small lead, before a Washburn run put them out front by double digits. A valiant rally brought the Pack to within two points in the last 30 seconds, but they couldn’t convert on their last possession and were forced to foul with two seconds left. The resulting free throws led to the final four-point margin.
The Packers’ Matt Duren is this week’s KAAL TV male Prep of the Week.
It’s a whole new ball game for the Austin Packers this year.
“With us changing styles and trying to be more up tempo this year we need to learn to play fast,” head coach Kris Fadness said.
And with the change new leaders are emerging on the court, like senior guard Matt Duren.
“For us to be successful we need to be a real team and share the ball and I think Matt will definitely be a beneficiary of that team play,” Fadness said.
Last year Duren was a key player off the bench for the Packers, but this year he’s adjusting to his new role as a starter.
“I’ve never started before so it’s a little bit of nervous, but the adrenaline just takes over during the game,” Duren said.
Watch the story here. See highlights of the first game against Cedar Falls here.
And be sure to turn out tonight at Packer Gym as the Minneapolis Washburn Millers, fresh off a one-point win over Class AAAA Eden Prairie, come to town for a nonconference matchup.
The Austin Packers opened their 2010-11 season Saturday with a tough 75-64 home loss to Cedar Falls, Iowa. Cedar Falls made the state tournament last year, and have another strong team.
It was a game of runs: The Packers got off to an early 6-2 lead, but then the Tigers rallied to go ahead, before the Packers went on a tear to tie the game at 29. Unfortunately, the Tigers scored the remaining 14 points of the half to go into the locker room with a 43-29 advantage.
In the second half, the Tigers stretched the lead to as much as 19. The Packers put on a furious rally to cut the lead to 69-62 with 1:05 remaining, but fell short of making the comeback.
A few notes on this video, and what you’ll be seeing throughout the year.
You might wonder how the Packers ever lose. For the most part, I won’t be showing scores by the other team. This isn’t a balanced news site; it’s a booster site. An exception may be if an opposing player hits a game-winning buzzer beater. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.
I generally won’t be showing free throws, because there isn’t much action involved. Saturday the Packers were something like 19 for 22 from the charity stripe, which is obviously excellent. The main exceptions to the “no free throws” rule are that I will include those of the “and 1” variety, in which an Austin boy is completing a three-point play after being fouled, and will show free throws made at the end of a close game.
For the the most part, I won’t be showing missed shots by the Packers; the exception is when a missed shot leads to a Packer rebound and score, so showing the missed shot provides context for the rest of the play.
I will typically show a few key defensive plays from each game, but generally won’t show defensive rebounds. I also won’t show Packer turnovers.
I will miss some scoring plays. I’m a dad and my first role is watching the game. Sometimes I get engrossed in the action and forget to follow it with the camera. Any field goal scores that don’t make the highlights are just because I missed them.
Tipping off the season on Saturday afternoon versus Cedar Falls, Iowa, the Austin boys will face a stiff challenge. Cedar Falls was in the Iowa State Tournament last season and has a guard who is rumored to be a Division-I college prospect.
If that’s not enough of a challenge, then the Packers will take on another stiff test from their own state in the second game of the season. Next week on Thursday night, Austin will play host to Minneapolis Washburn, ranked in the state’s top 10 for Class AAA.
“I feel good about the team, the kids played really well in their summer league and I hope they can carry that over into the season,” Austin coach Kris Fadness said. “We have a large number of seniors and some talented young kids, so we’ll have a deep rotation. It’s a tough schedule and we’ll put the kids through the fire in the first couple of weeks.”
Read the whole article here. It also includes the full season schedule, so mark your calendar to attend as many games as you can.
Join us this afternoon at 4 for the first game against Cedar Falls, Iowa! (The B squad game is at 3 2:30.) And check back here at PackerFastBreakClub.com regularly for updates on the season, including video highlights from each game. You can get site updates by email or RSS, and join the Packer Fast Break Club group on Facebook.
The Packers looked strong today in a scrimmage held at Century High School in Rochester. Six teams were involved, including Austin, Albert Lea, Century, Rochester John Marshall, Stewartville and Winona Cotter.
The Packers matched up first with Stewartville, with about half of the one-hour session devoted to half-court situations before a brief full-court session. The second-round against Winona Cotter was all full-court scrimmaging. Scores weren’t kept against either, but the boys looked sharp.
In the final session, the Pack faced off in a simulated 20-minute game against JM. Here are some of the highlights of the 41-16 win:
Here are three other upcoming events:
Monday, November 29 is “Meet the Packers Night” at Packer Gym, starting at 6:30 p.m. Come out to see an intrasquad scrimmage and get an exciting preview of the 2010-11 Packers
Next Saturday, Dec. 4, the Fast Break Club is hosting a Pancake Breakfast fundraiser at Applebee’s in Austin. See any player for tickets, which are $6 per person.
That same day, the Packers open the season against Cedar Falls, Iowa. The B Squad game is at 3, with the Varsity following at 4 p.m. Let’s turn out a big crowd to cheer the boys on to victory.
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