ROSEMOUNT -- The one thing Austin could not have happen happened the first three times the Packers touched the ball, and 10th-ranked Rosemount made them pay.

The AHS boys' basketball team committed three turnovers to start the game and second-seeded Rosemount eliminated the seventh-seeded Packers, 63-33, from Section 1AAA play Thursday night in Rosemount.

The host Irish scored the game's first 10 points and never hesitated to take Austin out of its game. The Packers had a decisive size advantage but rarely had the opportunity to utilize it. Rosemount forced 26 turnovers and led from the opening tip.

"We would have had to play a near-perfect game to beat them," said AHS coach Kris Fadness. "They got after us right away and basically told us that they weren't going to take us lightly, and they came out and took it to us."

Austin (7-17) kept Rosemount's leading scorer Kyle Marxhausen relatively quiet, allowing the senior swingman 10 points -- 13.5 below his season average.

But Marxhausen did not need to contribute his regular input on offense -- the rest of the Rosemount squad took care of that.

"A bunch of different guys stepped up," said Rosemount coach Steve Bender. "Kyle shared the ball a lot. This is a very cohesive group."

Steve Hunter scored 10 of his game-high 13 points in the first quarter, cashing in a three-pointer and two hoop-and-harm series. Point guard Mike Kootsikas hit a pair of threes and finished as one of four Rosemount players in double figures.

"I think they're one of the best teams we faced all year," said AHS senior Jon Bain, an All-Big Nine Conference selection. "They're very quick, very athletic. We would have hoped to rebound better but they're really quick off their feet.

"We weren't able to use our size to an advantage though, they made us play their tempo."

Seven first-quarter turnovers sealed Austin's fate from the opening whistle. Rosemount (17-9) went up 10-0 before Bain put the Packers on the board two minutes into the game. It was another three minutes before John Duren's driving layup left Rosemount's lead at 17-4.

"I don't think we could have had a worse start than that," Bain said. "We've got to value the basketball."

"I'm sure they wanted to get off to a better start than they did," Rosemount's Bender said. "We really had a good first half defensively, better in the first than the second."

A trio of three-pointers by sophomore Alex Kaiser and senior Jordan VanProosdy ended the Packers' third quarter with a 9-2 run, but the game was already well inhand for Rosemount.

"I think they're the best team we've played all year," Fadness said. "They're just so athletic at every position. They all can shoot and they all can dribble.

"They killed us on the offensive glass and got us to turn the ball over numerous times."

Marxhausen had four of his 10 points in the first quarter, and a transition dunk for the 6-3 forward was waived off during the second. Austin junior Mike Tray was assessed man-to-man duties coming off the bench, and for the most part Tray was in his face the whole way.

"We bottled up Marxhausen very well," Fadness said. "I'm really proud of Mike Tray's effort all night.

"And I'm happy with the seniors. It would have been easy to be disgruntled all year but they kept working. We felt like they responded all year."

Six seniors -- Bain, VanProosdy, Tucker Schieck, Kyle Rizzi, Jon Barnett and Marc Forman -- finished their basketball careers at Austin High. Bain and VanProosdy each netted six points and Forman made a reverse layup late in the fourth quarter.

The Pack also laid ground for the future with Duren's team-high nine points and eight more from Kaiser. Tray also played a solid game off the bench at the point.

Austin lost nine of its final 10 games to finish the season 7-17 overall.

Boxscore:

AUSTIN (33) -- Mike Tray 0, Kyle Rizzi 0, Joey Kroc 0, Troy Hoefflin 0, Tucker Schieck 2, Jon Bain 6, John Duren 9, Jon Barnett 0, Marc Forman 2, Alex Kaiser 8, Jordan VanProosdy 6.

ROSEMOUNT (63) -- Chris Olson 0, Brady Schmitt 0, William Maupins 2, Brandon Wolf 3, Steve Hunter 13, Nick Myers 12, Nick Graham 0, Kyle Marxhausen 10, Sean Westbrook 0, Jack Fraune 2, Jeremy Trebil 2, Chris Buss 9, Mike Kootsikas 10.

Austin97116--33

Rosemount22131513--63

Three-pointers--Austin 5 (Kaiser 2, VanProosdy 2, Duren); Rosemount 6 (Kootsikas 3, Buss, Hunter, Wolf).

Free-throws--Austin 2-3, Rosemount 7-12.