The Rochester John Marshall boys basketball team shot the lights out in the first half and Austin couldn’t match it as the No. 5 ranked Packers suffered their first loss of the season by a score of 88-65 in Packer Gym Friday.

The Rockets (5-0 overall, 5-0 Big Nine), who are ranked No. 5 in Class AAAA, made nine three-pointers in the first half as they took control from the opening tip. JM standout and Gopher commit Michael Hurt hit back-to-back threes to put his team up 48-24 right before the end of the first half.

“It’s the best starting five I’ve seen in twenty years in the Big Nine,” Austin head coach Kris Fadness said. “They’re athletic, they’re skilled, they’re physical and they’re just legit. It’s a tough matchup for us and if they’re going to shoot it like that, it’s lights out. I give them all the credit in the world.”

As good as the Rockets were on Friday, the Packers didn’t back down. Austin struggled from the three point line as it went 4-for-22 from deep range, but it stayed aggressive. Kyle Oberbroeckling finished with 11 points and six rebounds as he did most of his damage inside the paint.

“Kyle was outstanding tonight. He was gutty and he worked hard,” Fadness said. “I like our team, I like it a lot. We lost by 23 and I thought we did a lot of good things out there, they were just that good tonight. They were sharp and their talent level showed.”

Austin (4-1 overall, 3-1 Big Nine) got as close as 52-36 in the second half after Oberbroeckling scored, but JM pulled away down the stretch.

Oberbroeckling said the Packers never felt any intimidation playing against JM, which is the favorite to win the Big Nine for the second straight year.

“When they hit their first seven shots, that’s hard to bounce back from. I’m glad that we kept playing our game. We played Packer basketball and we didn’t give up,” Oberbroeckling said. “It’s probably the best competition we’ve seen all year and that makes us better.”

The Packers have another big game in Packer Gym when they host Red Wing, which is ranked No. 2 in Class AAA, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

JM 50 38 — 88

Austin 30 35 — 65

Austin scoring: Kyle Oberbroeckling, 13; Jace Murray, 11; Oman Oman, 9; Mark Manyuon, 8; Duoth Gach, 6; Both Gach, 5; Zach Coffey, 4; Trent Brown, 4; Tate Hebrink, 3; Moses Issa, 2; free throws: 77 percent (7-for-9); three-pointers: 18 percent (4-for-22)