The Austin Packers went to Rochester to face the Mayo Spartans Friday night and came away with a 64-39 win in Big Nine Conference play.
The Packers, hindered by injuries to starting guards Zach Wessels and Bret Lukes, led just 25-19 at halftime, but went on a 39-12 run to put the game away. Joe Aase had 24 of his game-high 34 points in the second half. Lukes added 13, Ajuda Nywesh 7, Tom Aase 6 and Collin Weisert and Wessels 2 each.
The Packers, ranked #2 in Minnesota’s Class AAA, now own the longest active winning streak in the state. They return to action next Friday night at Mankato West.
Austin defeated Owatonna Friday night in Big Nine conference action, posting a 67-46 win in Packer Gym.
The Packers used smothering defense and hot shooting to build a 29-12 halftime lead and stretched it to 50-17 early in the second half. They had four players in double figures: Zach Wessels with 17, Joe Aase 16, Ajuda Nywesh 11 and Collin Weisert with 10. Tom Aase had 6, Gach Gach 5 and Bret Lukes 2 to round out the scoring.
The Austin Packers used pressure defense to run their season record to 13-0 with at 63-38 win at Winona on Tuesday.
The Packers held the Winhawks to their season low point total, allowing just 20 points in the first half and 18 in the second. See the Winona Daily News recap and the Austin Daily Herald coverage. Here are the highlights:
Tom Aase led the Packers in scoring with 17 points, while Ajuda Nywesh had 12, Zach Wessels 11, Bret Lukes 7, Joe Aase 6, Collin Weisert 4 and Gach Gach and Nik Gasner 3 each.
Next up for the Packers: the first-place showdown with Rochester John Marshall, currently 12-2 overall and tied with the Packers atop the Big Nine at 7-0.
The Austin Packers came into Friday night’s game having had some good wins against teams like Edina, New Prague and Eastview, but they hadn’t put together a complete game.
Until now.
The Packers, who had started slowly in several games, got off to a 15-2 start and never looked back, rolling to a 74-24 win over Rochester Century in Packer Gym. The win was Austin’s 18th in a row at home and ran their season record to 12-0, 6-0 in the Big Nine.
Joe Aase, who was presented a game ball by Coach Kris Fadness before the game in recognition of reaching the 1,000-point career scoring mark Tuesday at Faribault, led the Packers’ scoring against Century with 20 points. Zach Wessels added 15, Tom Aase 9, Bret Lukes 8, Ajuda Nywesh and Collin Weisert 5 each; Ben Bumgarner, Gach Gach and Jacob Kempen each had a 3, while Curtis Oberbroeckling with 2 and Zach Coffey with 1 rounded out the scoring. Century’s 6’10” center Carter Evans, who will play for Division II Northern State next year, had 14 points for the Panthers.
Next up for the Packers are the Winona Winhawks on the road on Tuesday. Their next home game is Thursday against Rochester John Marshall. The Rockets are 11-2 on the year and tied with the Packers atop the Big Nine standings.
Austin Packer Senior Joe Aase scored his 1000th career point early in the second half Tuesday night as Austin rolled to a convincing 80-44 win at Faribault.
The win, combined with a loss by Delano, means Austin is now the only undefeated team in Minnesota’s Class AAA boys basketball. The Packers are 11-0 on the year and 5-0 in Big Nine Conference play.
Joe Aase led the Packer scoring Tuesday with 18 points, while Bret Lukes tallied 16, Zach Wessels 12, Collin Weisert 11, Tom Aase 9, Nik Gasner 6, Ajuda Nywesh 5, Jacob Kempen 2 and Gach Gach 1.
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