Packer boys use defense to beat Century
Published 11:08 pm Friday, January 28, 2011
Just a few days after they hit a season-high 17 three-pointers in a win over Faribault, the Austin boys basketball team could hardly buy a bucket at Rochester Century (11-4 overall, 8-2 Big Nine) Friday.
But the Packers still prevailed with the help of their defense in a 39-26 win Friday.
Austin (8-7 overall, 7-3 Big Nine) held Century’s top post player Ater Manyang to five points and their top three-point shooter Nate Kruisselbrink to zero points in the win.
“Our defense was outstanding,” Austin head coach Kris Fadness said. “Tom Aase had two huge blocks in the second half, including one on Manyang that went he pounded into the glass.”
While their defense dominated, the Packer shooters struggled. Austin hit just 10 field goals on the night, with six of those shots coming from behind the arc. They were forced to hold possession for the last seven minutes and Zach Fadness came through, hitting 10-of-14 from the charity stripe.
Austin led 25-10 and it held Century to a season-low 26 points on the night.
“Neither team shot well and it was that kind of night,” Kris Fadness said. “They were very physical on defense and we took the air out of the ball at the end.”
Austin scoring: Zach Fadness, 13; Andrew Kaiser, 8; Joe Aase, 7; Zach Wessels, 6; Jay Ettinger, 4; Matt Duren, 1; free throws: 64 percent (14-for-22)