The Austin boys basketball team couldn’t overcome an injury to their floor leader and a rough shooting night as it lost 49-43 to Kaukauna, Wis. in the Warrior Classic in Winona Saturday.

Austin point guard Zach Wessels left the game to get stitches after he cut his eye with 12 minutes left in the game and he never returned to the lineup. Still the Packers (8-2 overall) rallied to take a 37-36 lead with 6:30 left after they had trailed 26-17 at the half.

“It was a good game in the second half,” Austin head coach Kris Fadness said. “We turned it up a notch and played much better. I was proud of how the kids came back, but we just didn’t shoot well enough and Kaukauna is a very good basketball team.”

Bret Lukes led the Packers with 17 points.

Kaukauna is ranked in the top 10 in its Division in Wisconsin.

Austin scoring: Bret Lukes, 17; Ajuda Nywesh, 10; Nik Gasner, 6; Zach Wessels, 5; Gach Gach, 3; Noah Brehmer, 3