Austin boys win a battle
Published 1:28 pm Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Follow Rock Hulne’s Tweets from the game at the bottom of this story
The Austin boys basketball team hit seven three-pointers to Saint Thomas Academy’s zero on the way to a 55-49 win at Williams Arena in Minneapolis Wednesday afternoon. With that, the Austin boys are moving on at the Minnesota Class AAA State Boys Basketball Tournament. Duoth Gach led the way early with 17 points, including making five or eight three-pointers and scoring 14 in the first half. He also had a pair of blocks and steals.Both Gach added 14 points and six rebounds, while Tate Hebrink scored 9 and Oman Oman added 6. Sam Vascellaro led the way for the CadetsSaint Thomas Academy with game-highs in points (24) and rebounds (13), shooting 10-19 from the floor and adding three steals. The Cadets inside presence helped offset the three-point shooting discrepancy with a 10-4 edge on the offensive glass and a 9-2 scoring margin in second chance points. The Packers, in their 30th appearance at the state tournament, will play in semifinals vs. Marshall or Grand Rapids tomorrow at 2 p.m. in the Target Center. If the Packers win, they’ll then play in the Class AAA title game in the Target Center at 5 p.m. on Saturday. If they lose, they’ll play in the third-place game at 2 p.m. Saturday at Concordia University. The Cadets will continue competition in the state tournament in the consolation semifinals against the losing team of the other quarterfinal matchup on Thursday at 4 p.m. at Gangelhoff Center on the campus of Concordia-St. Paul. Check back for a full rundown of the game later this evening.
Other games:
DeLaSalle 55, Big Lake 47
Columbia Heights 77, Fergus Falls 74