MINNEAPOLIS —The Packers took control of the perimeter from the opening tip and they were able to close things out down the stretch as they beat St. Thomas Academy 55-49 in the Minnesota Class AAA Boys State Basketball quarterfinals in Williams Arena Wednesday.

The Cadets were as close as five points late in the game, but Austin was able to ice things at the free throw line.

Throughout the game it was the three-point line where the Packers (28-2 overall) gained an advantage as they went 7-for-20 on three-pointers and the Cadets went 0-for-14 on three-pointers. Austin had major concerns about stopping St. Thomas sharpshooter Jack Thompson, but Austin held him 2-of-9 shooting as he finished with four points.

Austin head coach Kris Fadness said the team used their summer scrimmages with Fergus Falls for an example on how to play defense against STA.

“We wanted to play these guys like we played Fergus Falls over the summer,” Fadness said. “We had to get to their three-point shooters and I did not want Thompson getting a good shot off. We had talked about that all week. They made a concerted effort to get [Sam] Vascellaro the ball inside.”

Vascerallo finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds as he kept the Cadets in the game, while Austin was led by the shooting of Duoth Gach, who had 17 points, while going 5-for-8 on three-pointers. Duoth was 4-for-5 on three-pointers in the first half and he added three rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals.

“When I hit my first couple of shots,” Duoth said. “I’m just going to keep shooting and my teammates find me when I’m open. We didn’t want to force shots. There’s a lot of noise in here and we just had to play through it.”

While Duoth was shooting the lights out, Both Gach was making plays all over the court. Both tallied 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Packers. Both gave Austin a 22-13 lead in the first half when he converted a three-point play.

“We just needed to start getting stops on the defensive end and we needed to rebound. They out-rebounded us in the first half,” Both said. “We had to close out and put a hand in their face.”

Austin was a little winded down the stretch, and Fadness hopes to change his rotation when the Packers take on No. 3 Marshall (27-3 overall) in the Class AAA semifinals in Target Center at 2 p.m. Thursday.

“I thought we made some mistakes,” Fadness said. “We usually play 10 guys per game and we went down to eight. I thought we were gassed and I’ve go to do a better job of managing playing time. When you play that pressing style on these big courts, you have to stay fresh.”

STA 23  26  —  49

Austin 31  24  —  55

Austin scoring: Duoth Gach, 17; Both Gach, 14; Tate Hebrink, 9; Oman Oman, 6; Moses Issa, 4; Jany Gash, 3; Pat Hagan, 2; field goals: 42 percent (19-for-45); three-pointers: 35 percent (7-for-20); free throws: 67 percent (10-for-15); rebounds: 26 (Both, 6); turnovers: 11