Oshkosh North surges past Appleton North boys basketball, ending Lightning’s 12-game win streak

By Paul Lecker
AppletonSportsPage.com

APPLETON – Oshkosh North knocked down seven 3-pointers in the second half as it erased a double-digit deficit and upset Appleton North 61-57 in a Fox Valley Association boys basketball game Friday night at Appleton North High School.

The Lightning, winners of 12 games in a row coming in, pulled out to a 36-26 lead by halftime, which was capped off by a half-court shot by Nathan Ramus at the buzzer.

Senior Grant Hardy scored 16 points in the opening half for the Lightning, who were a solid 15-for-28 shooting and made five 3-pointers.

A 3-pointer from Hardy and a basket by Ramus pushed the lead to 27-19 with 6 minutes to go in the half. After five points in a row from Oshkosh North, the Lightning finished the half on a 9-2 run as Matthew Rosplochowski had six points and Ramus’ 3 at the buzzer gave Appleton North a 36-26 lead.

Appleton North pushed the lead to 11 early in the second half only to go cold and the Spartans responded with a 16-3 run to go ahead for the first time in nearly 24 minutes.

Owen Weber hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark the run as the Spartans held Appleton North to just one field goal over a nearly 10-minute stretch.

Two free throws by Jackson Anderson gave the Spartans a 45-43 lead before the Lightning seemed to regroup.

Will Sweeney made two free throws to start an 8-0 run that ended with a Hardy basket at the 6:13 mark, giving Appleton North a 51-45 lead.

However, the Lightning would make just one more basket from the field and Oshkosh North took advantage.

Two 3-pointers from Jackson Anderson and Brendyn Sawall gave the Spartans a 59-55 lead with 1:42 left. Hardy connected on a pair of free throws to bring the Lightning to within one, and after Sawall split a pair at the line for Oshkosh North, Appleton North had one last chance, but missed a 3-pointer that could have tied it.

Dalton Clark made one of two free throws with 5 seconds left to give the Spartans (12-7, 9-6 FVA) a four-point cushion and the victory.

Hardy ended up with a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds, and Rosplochowski scored 17 points for Appleton North, which drops to 17-3 overall and 13-2 in the FVA, one game behind Kaukauna for first place with just three conference games remaining.

Hardy and Rosplochowski combined to go 15-for 25 shooting, while the rest of the Lightning were just 6-for-23.

Sawall and Bryce Ott each had 16 points for Oshkosh North.

Appleton North will play at Appleton East on Tuesday as part of a boys-girls doubleheader. The boys game begins at 6 p.m. with the girls to follow at approximately 7:45 p.m.

Spartans 61, Lightning 57
Oshkosh North   26   35   –   61
Appleton North   36   21   –   57
OSHKOSH NORTH (61): Owen Weber 3-8 1-1 9, Jackson Anderson 2-7 2-2 7, Brendyn Sawall 5-9 3-6 16, Bryce Ott 5-11 4-5 16, Dalton Clark 0-4 1-2 1, Brady Anderson 5-10 0-0 12, Jay Weber 0-1 0-0 0, Kallum Larson-Poeschl 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 20-50. FT: 11-16. 3-pointers: 10-28 (Sawall 3-6, Ott 2-4, B. Anderson 2-5, O. Weber 2-7, J. Anderson 1-3, J. Weber 0-1, Clark 0-2). Rebounds: 27 (Ott 8). Turnovers: 5. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: Ott. Record: 12-7, 9-6 Fox Valley Association.
APPLETON NORTH (57): Will Sweeney 1-7 2-2 4, Matthew Rosplochowski 7-12 3-6 17, Nathan Ramus 3-9 2-5 10, Grant Hardy 8-13 3-3 22, Ethan Eisenberg 0-1 0-0 0, Evan Ryan 1-3 0-1 2, Sam Kuehl 0-0 0-0 0, Ben Zdzieblowski 1-3 0-0 2, Ethan Arft 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 21-48. FT: 10-17. 3-pointers: 5-20 (Hardy 3-4, Ramus 2-6, Zdzieblowski 0-1, Ryan 0-2, Rosplochowski 0-2, Sweeney 0-5). Rebounds: 28 (Hardy 9). Turnovers: 7. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: none. Record: 17-3, 13-2 Fox Valley Association.