The Appleton North student section comes alive during a Nathan Ramus free throw attempt in the second half of its WIAA Division 1 state tournament semifinal against Wisconsin Lutheran on Friday night at the Kohl Center in Madison. The Lightning lost 68-61 in their first-ever trip to the state tournament. (Photo by Paul Lecker/AppletonSportsPage.com)

Appleton North boys basketball drops tight game to unbeaten Wisconsin Lutheran in WIAA Division 1 state semifinal

March 21, 2026 plecker

The Appleton North bench reacts after a made basket late in the second half of the Lightning’s WIAA Division 1 state tournament semifinal loss to Wisconsin Lutheran on Friday at the Kohl Center in Madison. (Photo by Paul Lecker/AppletonSportsPage.com)

Appleton North senior Nathan Ramus passes out to the perimeter after being met at the basket by Wisconsin Lutheran’s Kager Knueppel during Friday’s WIAA state tournament Division 1 semifinal Friday at the Kohl Center in Madison. (Photo by Paul Lecker/AppletonSportsPage.com)

By Paul Lecker
AppletonSportsPage.com

MADISON – The Appleton North boys basketball team stood on the precipice of pulling off an astronomical upset in its first-ever state tournament game Friday night at the Kohl Center.

The Lightning trimmed a 12-point deficit down to two with just under six minutes to go against undefeated Wisconsin Lutheran, a two-time defending state champion and a squad with three potential Division I recruits that is ranked eighth nationally.

However, the experience and talent of the Vikings took over as they outscored North 15-10 the rest of the way and finished off a 68-61 victory in a Division 1 semifinal at the 2026 WIAA State Boys Basketball Tournament.

Wisconsin Lutheran (29-0) shot 60 percent from the floor (24 of 40) and held a 27-16 rebounding advantage as it will play for a third-straight state title Saturday night against Madison Memorial (27-2), a 75-62 win over De Pere in the other semifinal.

Northern Iowa recruit Zavier Zens scored a game-high 21 points, Kinston Knueppel added 20, and Kager Knueppel finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for the Vikings.

“Wisconsin Lutheran is a heck of a team,” Appleton North coach Chris Kellett said. “They have a lot of athletic ability. We knew we’d have our work cut out for us, we just couldn’t get a shot or two to fall, missed some free throws as well, but we gave it everything we had. I’m super proud of our guys and this was an awesome experience for us.”

Wisconsin Lutheran never trailed, pulling ahead for good at 5-2 on a 3-pointer by Kinston Knueppel 1:38 into the game.

The Lightning stayed within striking distance as Nathan Ramus scored eight of his team-high 20 points in the opening six minutes. A Ramus 3-pointer brought the Lightning to within 13-11 before the Vikings hit back-to-back 3-pointers and push their lead back to eight.

North’s Will Sweeney drilled a 3 with 1:25 to go in the half only to have Kinston Knueppel counter with a basket and Wisconsin Lutheran took a 37-27 lead into halftime.

Zens had a pair of hoops early in the second half and Wisconsin Lutheran went up by as much as 12 at 43-31.

In what seemed like a last gasp, North responded with a 7-0 run to get back in it. Ramus scored inside, Grant Hardy nailed two free throws and Matt Rosplochowski drained a 3-pointer to bring the Lightning to within three with 12:50 left.

The Vikings quickly pushed their lead back to seven, but the prior run gave North some hope and it was able to stay alive.

A basket from Evan Ryan and two Rosplochowski free throws had the Lightning within two at 53-51 with 5:42 remaining, but they just could not get over the hump.

“We cut it to two there, all the pressure was on them, and we were going to keep the same mentality, keep attacking,” Ramus said. “A couple plays didn’t go our way. That’s basketball through, they’re a great team.”

Wisconsin Lutheran countered with a 9-2 run that was punctuated with a Zens dunk on a fast break. Sweeney converted a three-point play for North, but the Vikings were able to hang on over the final two minutes, with Kager Knueppel scoring the final four points to ice the victory.

“We always believe, every day in practice, we know we can beat anyone, we can play with any team in the state,” Ramus said. “We showed that tonight. We always had faith. We worked for these kind of moments.”

Rosplochowski finished with 18 points and Sweeney had 12 as the Lightning ends the year with a 24-5 record.

Vikings 68, Lightning 61
Appleton North 27 34 – 61
Wisconsin Lutheran 37 31 – 68
APPLETON NORTH (61): Will Sweeney 4-7 3-4 12, Matt Rosplochowski 6-11 3-3 18, Nathan Ramus 8-12 2-5 20, Grant Hardy 1-5 2-2 4, Ben Zdzieblowski 1-4 0-0 2, Ethan Arft 0-1 0-0 0, Evan Ryan 2-3 0-1 5, Sam Kuehl 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 22-43. FT: 10-15. 3-pointers: 7-18 (Rosplochowski 3-6, Ramus 2-5, Ryan 1-2, Sweeney 1-3, Hardy 0-1, Zdzieblowski 0-1). Rebounds: 16 (Sweeney 4, Hardy 4). Turnovers: 4. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: none. Record: 24-5.
WISCONSIN LUTHERAN (68): Kager Knueppel 6-11 3-4 17, Riley Walz 1-2 0-0 2, Zavier Zens 8-14 4-5 21, Jamail Sewall 2-3 0-1 4, Kinston Knueppel 6-8 7-7 20, Nathan Tranberg 1-1 1-2 4, Kendall Newman 0-0 0-0 0, Tristan Hahn 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 24-40. FT: 15-19. 3-pointers: 5-9 (Ka. Knueppel 2-3, Ki. Knueppel 1-1, Tranberg 1-1, Zens 1-3, Walz 0-1). Rebounds: 27 (Ka. Knueppel 8). Turnovers: 5. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: none. Record: 29-0.