Austin Packers boys basketball team downs Northfield 68-59 Saturday evening

In a game you heard on AM 1480 KAUS, something had to give at Packer Gym Saturday evening as the Austin Packers boys basketball team, winners of two in a row played host to Big 9 Conference and Section 1AAA rival Northfield, winners of four in a row and seven out of their last eight, and in a game that saw the Packers take an early lead they would not relinquish, three players finished in double figures in scoring in a 68-59 Packer win.

Northfield led 2-0 at the start of the game until the Packers struck for three 3-pointers in quick succession, two for Cole Hebrink and one for Isaac Osgood to give Austin a 9-2 lead.  The Packers led by as many as eight in the first half and went into halftime leading 28-20 when they started the second half on a 6-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game of 12 points at 34-22.  The Raiders answered with a 10-0 run of their own, led mostly by leading scorer Isaiah Mahal, who drained four 3’s in the half and scored 14 of his 15 points in the second half to make the score 34-32, but after an Austin timeout, the two squads swapped 8-2 runs to make the score 44-42 in favor of the Packers with 8:31 to go.  Austin then went on a crucial 10-2 run to open up a 52-44 lead, and the Packers were able to seal the win by draining six of their 11 3-pointers for the game in the second half.

Sophomore guard Cole Hebrink drained four 3-pointers on his way to 17 points to lead Austin in scoring Saturday night, Isaac Osgood swished five 3’s for 15 points, Peyton Ransom was also in double figures in scoring with 11 points, Jackson Clausman tallied eight points, sophomore forward Banyaan Omot scored all seven of his points in the second half with a 3-pointer and a pair of dunks, Dakota Retterath also totaled seven points, and Mikah Christopherson tallied a field goal in the second half for two points in the win.

Austin is now 3-4 in the Big 9 Conference and 4-8 overall with the win, and the Packers are back into action at home Tuesday night versus another Big 9 Conference and Section 1AAA foe in the personage of the Winona Winhawks, and you’ll hear the game on AM 1480 KAUS, with the pre-game show coming you way at 7:15 p.m., and tip-off at 7:30 p.m.