The Austin boys basketball team will have to stay on its toes on defense when it opens the Minnesota Class AAA state tournament against Saint Thomas Academy in Williams Arena in Minneapolis 2 p.m. Wednesday.

STA (23-5 overall) features on offense that requires a lot of ball movement and a lot of shooting. The Cadets lean on the play-making of junior point forward Sam Vascellaro and sophomore guard Jack Thompson.

“They’re a good shooting team and [Thompson] reminds me a little a bit of Owen King of Caledonia,” Austin head coach Kris Fadness said. “He’s not as big and strong as Owen, but he has that type of game.”

Austin (27-2 overall) is the No. 2 seed in the tournament and it is coming off a 73-60 win over Northfield in the Section 1AAA title game. STA beat Richfield 62-59 in the Section 3AAA title game.

Fadness said the Packers can make things a lot easier on themselves by having a good shooting day and he’s hoping his team comes out ready to play.

“This time of year, if you play well you have a good chance to advance, if you don’t play well then you’re done,” Fadness said. “I think if we play well against St. Thomas, we’ll beat them. If we don’t play well, they’re going to beat us.”

Austin senior Kyle Obebroeckling said that the Packers will be ready to lock down on defense to keep STA’s scorers at bay.

“They’ve definitely got some playmaker guards and we’ve got to get out to them and have successful close outs on them,”Obebroeckling said.

Fadness agreed that Austin will have to apply a lot of energy on the defensive end of the floor it it wants to advance to the semifinals.

“They’re a solid basketball team and I think they’re a very good shooting basketball team, which gives me a lot of concern with our zone,” Fadness said. “ We’re going to have to contest shots, make them work to score and we’re going to have to do a job on the glass.”

Austin is playing in its 30th total state tournament and it is the fourth state tournament appearance in the last six years for the Packers.