Austin's role players all played their parts and John Duren provided the scoring early as the Packer boys' basketball team won its home-opener Thursday night over Rochester Mayo, 49-37, at Ove Berven Gym.

Duren scored 10 of his game-high 16 points in the first quarter and the Packer players around him filled in according to plan. Center Jon Bain led all players with seven rebounds and three blocked shots, point guard Joey Kroc had four steals, and Mike Tray buried two buzzer-beating three-pointers to lift Austin (1-1, 1-1) into the win column.

"Tray was huge for us," Duren said. "His shots lit up the whole crowd and got us going."

Austin led 19-7 after the first quarter, supplied by Duren's 4-6 shooting in the face of Mayo's defense. Tray hit a half-court shot as time expired on the period and the Packers surged into the second.

"Duren was really tough on us," said Spartans coach Mark Kieffer. "And they defended us pretty well."

Mayo (1-1, 1-1) shot just 33 percent from the floor in the first half while Austin hit half of its attempts, including a 6-10 clip from three-point range. Duren had four threes and Tray had two treys, including a long-range jumper from the corner to end the first half.

"Obviously Mike Tray's two shots were momentum, and really back-breaking for Mayo," said Austin coach Kris Fadness. "Mike had about as productive of five to six minutes as you could give."

"It was exciting," Tray said of his buzzer-beaters. "'Red' (Duren) stepped it up a lot and Joey played a real hard game. It's definitely a big win."

The Packers soared into the halftime lockerroom with a 30-17 lead and never looked back as their 1-2-2 zone defense did the job on Mayo's shooters. The Spartans shot 26 percent after the half, including an 0-for-9 three-point effort.

"Our defense was really good tonight," Duren said. "We've been working on that zone in practice really hard and its playing off for us. This is a really big win for us, especially against Mayo because they're a big rival for us. This gives us confidence."

Austin did not attempt a free-throw throughout the entire contest. Any chance of a Mayo comeback attempt in the fourth quarter was thwarted by the Packers' patience on offense. Austin held on for layups, and Kyle Rizzi got four of them. Rizzi's teammates found him cutting to the basket for eight of his 12 points in the final frame.

"It really was a big win for us, especially after losing our conference opener," Coach Fadness said. "It's a huge confidence boost for our kids."

Four of Austin's first six games this season are at home in Ove Berven, including Saturday night's non-conference match with Rochester Lourdes.

"This is one of the best home places in the Big Nine, and we use it to our advantage," Duren said. "The crowd is great."

The Packers play on the road at Mankato East Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. and host Owatonna on Friday.

Boxscore:

MAYO (37) -- Drew Erie 0-1 0-1 0, Ben Sullivan 1-11 2-3 4, Tony Konicek 2-6 0-0 6, Ryan Miller 3-5 1-3 7, Wade Piazza 1-6 1-2 4, Kyle Brandy 1-6 0-0 2, David Junge 1-2 0-0 2, Casey Adkins 3-3 1-4 7, Nick Hagen 2-8 1-2 5. Totals 14-48 6-14.

AUSTIN (49) -- Mike Tray 2-2 0-0 6, Kyle Rizzi 6-9 0-0 12, Joey Kroc 1-3 0-0 2, Tucker Schieck 2-3 0-0 5, Jon Bain 1-5 0-0 2, John Duren 6-14 0-0 16, Jon Barnett 1-2 0-0 2, Marc Forman 1-2 0-0 2, Jordan VanProosdy 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-42 0-0.

Mayo710515--37

Austin1911613--49

Three-pointers--Mayo 3-19 (Konicek 2-5, Piazza 1-5, Erie 0-1, Brandy 0-4, Sullivan 0-4); Austin 7-14 (Duren 4-9, Tray 2-2, Schieck 1-1, Barnett 0-1, Kroc 0-1). Rebounds--Mayo 29 (Brandy, Hagen 6); Austin 28 (Bain 7). Team fouls--Mayo 11, Austin 13. Fouled out--none.