MINNEAPOLIS — The No. 2 seeded Austin boys basketball team grabbed the momentum when it needed it most as it was able to beat Sauk Rapids-Rice 64-55 in the Minnesota Class AAA  State Boys Basketball Tournament quarterfinals in Williams Arena Wednesday.

The Packers (27-2 overall) opened the second half on a 10-2 run to go up 40-29 with 14:11 left in the game and the Storm never got closer than nine the rest of the way. Moses Issa, who finished with 20 points on 8-of-19 shooting, had a pair of lay-ups in the spurt.

Austin had trailed 6-2 early in the game before Logan Braaten scored four points during an 8-4 spurt to tie the game at 10. Austin eventually went up 19-12 after Duoth Gach drove for a score and Moses Issa hit a three-pointer with 8:24 left in the half. But the Packers weren’t able to pull completely away as they shot just 27 percent on three-pointers and committed 14 turnovers.

“I’m happy with the win, but at the same time. We need to play better and we need to get some mojo back,” Austin head coach Kris Fadness said.

Austin will play Delano in the Minnesota Class AAA semifinals in Target Center in Minneapolis at 2 p.m. Thursday.