The No. 2 ranked Austin boys basketball team is still looking a way to shake a midseason funk, and it took some steps towards snapping out of it as it beat Winona 75-49 in Packer Gym Friday night.

The Packers (14-1 overall, 11-1 Big Nine) scored the first nine points of the game and the Winhawks (4-11 overall, 1-10 Big Nine) never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Duoth Gach had 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Austin, Tate Hebrink had six points, eight assists and three steals and Nyagoa Obany had 11 points and nine rebounds. Austin hadn’t played since its win over Rochester Mayo last Saturday night.

Austin forced 24 turnovers in the win.

“It feels good to get back out here,” Obany said. “After losing [to Owatonna], we’ve got to be more focused on the game and we’ve got to show up every day.”

Austin head coach Kris Fadness said he’d like to see his team play a little more consistent, especially when the bench players come into the game.

“We played well in spurts tonight, but there were too many lulls. I thought at times we were careless with the ball and we had some mental mistakes. When we were good, we were really good and those runs were enough to carry us,” Fadness said. “We’ve had a stretch with finals week and we’re just a little over two months into a four month season. We’ve got to find a way to recharger our batteries and I’m sure other teams feel the same way.”

Austin’s bench played some big minutes, but it didn’t produce a lot of points. They did, however, give the team a lift on defense.

Logan Braaten, who grabbed two rebounds and had two steals, said the Packers are hoping they can find their stride as they look towards the second half of the season.

“When we played Owatonna, we were kind of riding high after beating those good team,” Braaten said. “Then we had about a week and a half of practice where we were just kind of going through the motions. That loss kind of woke us up and it jarred us even more after we started slow against Mayo. We realized we need to bring our energy every night.”

Winona 26  23  —  49

Austin 40  35  —  75

Austin scoring: Duoth Gach, 21; Moses Issa, 15; Nyagoa Obany, 11; Medi Obang, 9; Tate Hebrink, 6; Agwa Obang, 2; Luke Hawkshead, 2; LaHenry Gills, 2; free throws: 58 percent (11-for-19); rebounds: 35 (Obany, 9); turnovers: 9