Austin Packers boys’ basketball team rolls by Albert Lea 84-61; Coach Kris Fadness earns win No. 400 as Head Coach of Austin

The Austin Packers boys’ basketball team was looking to snap a three-game losing streak at Packer Gym Friday night versus I-90 rival Albert Lea, and guard Ater Manyuon led three Packers in double figures in scoring with 16 points, and a total of 12 Packers overall scored in the game as Austin rolled to an 84-61 win, which was also the 400th for Head Coach Kris Fadness in his career at Austin.

A 3-pointer from Manyuon gave Austin an early 15-5 lead Friday night, and his second of his three 3-pointers later in the half helped the Packers retain a 10-point lead at 24-14.  A dunk from guard Cham Okey later increased Austin’s lead to 13 at 31-18, and a dunk from Manyuon just a short time later boosted Austin’s lead to 16 at 37-21.  A 3-pointer from forward Buai Duop, one of 11 the Packers would register in the game gave Austin a 42-22 lead and Austin went into the locker room with a 44-26 lead at the half.

Austin kept the pressure on the Tigers to start the second half as a dunk by forward Victor Idris gave the Packers a 55-34 lead, and a hoop from Dane Mitchell off the bench later boosted the Austin lead to 65-43.  A hoop from forward Kaden Murley later kept Austin’s lead at 16 at 72-56, and Manyuon’s third 3-pointer of the game shortly thereafter gave Austin a 75-59 lead on their way to the win.

Besides his 16 points, Manyuon added four rebounds, three assists and a steal, Victor Idris tallied 11 points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal and two blocked shots, Cham Okey scored 10 points, plus he added two rebounds and a steal, Buai Duop chipped in nine points off the Packer bench, Kaden Murley added eight points, Jacob Herrick scored seven points, Jared Lillemon finished the night with six points, Othow Gari tallied five points, A’Triel Terry scored four points, Jack Lang and Morries Jabetah each chipped in three points and Dane Mitchell scored two points for the Packers, who outrebounded the Tigers 37-34, plus they added 13 steals to eight for Albert Lea and they also forced 19 turnovers to 14 of their own in the win.

With the win, Austin is now 9-7 in the Big 9 Conference and 10-10 overall on the season.  The Packers return to action in Northfield Tuesday night versus the Raiders in another Big 9 tilt, with the varsity tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.