Packers and Raiders will meet in Section 1AAA title game Friday
Published 8:10 pm Wednesday, March 14, 2018
- The Austin Packers bring their practice to a close Wednesday afternoon at Ellis Middle School. Teh squad is looking to take down Northfield for the third time this season in the Section 1A title game Friday in Rochester. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The No. 1 seeded Austin boys basketball team has one more hurdle to clear if it wants to get back to the Minnesota Class AAA State Boys Basketball Tournament. The Packers will take on No. 2 seeded Northfield in the Section 1AAA title game in Mayo Civic Auditorium at 7 p.m. Friday.
Austin swept Northfield (20-8 overall) this season by scores of 76-57 and 56-49 this season, but Austin had trailed the second meeting by 14 points. The 56 points it had in that game were a season low.
“They really did a nice job of spreading us around [in that game],” Austin head coach Kris Fadness said. “They were patient and they made shots in the first half against us at home. Some of that was what they were doing and some of it was us. At the same time, that was a game where Duoth and Medi really didn’t shoot the ball and with what’s at stake here, I expect them to come out and play well.”
The Packers (25-2 overall) have played just two games in the past two weeks and they’re chomping at the bit to get back on the court. Duoth Gach said the team is feeling more urgency than pressure at this point.
“We know it’s going to be a high intensity match up and we’ve got to come out playing our game,” Gach said. “We’ve got to work hard on defense and share the ball. We’ve got to crash the boards.”
The Raiders will likely lean on the scoring of Alex Rasmussen and Mason Zick, on the offensive end and Austin’s defense will be focused on them. Fadness said there are three phases of the game that Northfield will have to succeed in to keep up with the Pack.
“They’ve got to handle us on the glass, they have to hope we shoot low field goal percentage and they’ve got to value the basketball and not turn it over,” Fadness said. “If two of those things go well for them, they can win the game. We’re going to throw bodies at them, go after them and hopefully we’ll be a little bit sharper than we were against Kasson-Mantorville.”
Austin senior Moses Issa said the Packers’ motivation is at an all-time high as they look to finish what they started.
“It feels good when you know you worked for it in the offseason,” Issa said. “We just want to take advantage of the opportunity and get one last run. We’ve got to play our hardest and make it count.”
