On to Madison: Appleton North boys basketball holds off Kaukauna, wins Division 1 sectional final to advance to first state tournament
AppletonSportsPage.com
OSHKOSH – For the first time in program history, the Appleton North boys basketball team is heading to state.
Nathan Ramus scored six-straight points late and the Lightning made six of seven free throws in the final minute to defeat Fox Valley Association-rival Kaukauna 58-53 in a WIAA Division 1 sectional final Saturday afternoon at Oshkosh North High School.
The Lightning (24-4) will play a Division 1 semifinal at the 2026 WIAA State Boys Basketball Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison on Friday, March 20, at either 6:30 p.m. or 8:15 p.m. Seedings and matchups will be announced on Sunday.
The game was typical of two conference rivals playing for a third time, and with so much on the line, as it was tight throughout.
Kaukauna jumped out to a 6-0 lead as its 6-foot-9 big man Andrew Jensen scored twice inside.
Appleton North finally got on the scoreboard with a pair of free throws from Will Sweeney 5:13 into the game and Matt Rosplochowski followed that up with a 3-pointer to get the Lightning’s offense going.
Kaukauna maintained its advantage and pushed back to five on a 3-pointer from Josh Carl before North really came alive.
Rosplochowski, Grant Hardy and Ben Zdzieblowski each hit 3-pointers in an 11-0 run that gave the Lightning a 21-15 advantage five minutes before halftime.
North led the rest of the half and another triple from Zdzieblowski in the final minute gave the Lightning a 30-25 lead going into halftime.
Kaukauna came out of the locker room desperate and hot, scoring on four of its first six offensive possessions. A 9-3 run, capped by a Tyler Schwalbach 3-pointer, put the Ghosts back in front at 34-33.
The lead changed hands two more times over the next five minutes with Josh Carl and Jonah Roehrig splashing consecutive 3-pointers to give the Ghosts a 43-41 advantage with nine minutes left.
Neither team scored for nearly three minutes before Zdzieblowski drained his third 3 of the game and North went up by one, only to see Roehrig retaliate for the Ghosts.
A pair of Hardy free throws tied the game at 46-46 with 5:43 to go. Kaukauna would not score for more than four minutes and North took advantage as Ramus scored twice inside to put the Lightning up for good.
After Jensen, who finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds, converted a three-point play to cut it to one, Ramus and Jensen traded baskets.
The Ghosts forced North to the free throw line in the final minute as they fouled to try to regain possession. Sweeney and Hardy both knocked down a pair of free throws before Jensen scored with 17 seconds to go and North led 56-53.
The Lightning missed on a free throw attempt with 11. 6 seconds left, giving Kaukauna a chance. After a timeout, a corner 3-point shot was partially blocked with North rebounding. Sweeney hit two more free throws with 1.4 seconds left to ice the win and send the Lightning to state.
Rosplochowski finished with 18 points, Sweeney added 12, and Zdzieblowski and Ramus both had nine for the Lightning.
“This is awesome,” Appleton North coach Chris Kellett said in a post-game interview with Zaleski Sports. “This is a special senior class. We talked about this since their freshmen year when we made a sectional appearance. We have really good kids – 12 kids on the academic all-state list – I’m just so happy for these kids.
“I told the kids beforehand that this is all icing on the cake for us. People don’t realize where this program was eight years ago. These kids have bought in, they play hard, they care for each other. Anything can happen and we’ll play whoever they set us up with and give it our best shot.”
Watch a replay of the game here https://www.youtube.com/live/7IkKr84VWUs?feature=share
Lightning 58, Ghosts 53
Kaukauna 25 28 – 53
Appleton North 30 28 – 58
KAUKAUNA (53): Tyler Schwalbach 2-5 0-2 5, Kavanaugh Weyenberg 0-3 0-0 0, Josh Carl 3-10 0-0 9, Andrew Jensen 13-17 4-7 30, Jonah Roehrig 3-6 0-0 9, Drew Bowers 0-5 0-0 0. FG: 21-46. FT: 4-9. 3-pointers: 7-24 (Roehrig 3-4, Carl 3-9, Schwalbach 1-2, Jensen 0-1, Weyenberg 0-3, Bowers 0-5). Rebounds: 19 (Jensen 10). Turnovers: 3. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: none. Record: 24-4.
APPLETON NORTH (58): Will Sweeney 2-4 6-6 12, Matt Rosplochowski 7-12 2-3 18, Nathan Ramus 4-7 0-1 9, Grant Hardy 2-7 4-4 10, Ben Zdzieblowski 3-6 0-0 9, Ethan Arft 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 18-36. FT: 12-14. 3-pointers: 10-17 (Zdzieblowski 3-5, Sweeney 2-2, Rosplochowski 2-3, Hardy 2-4, Ramus 1-3). Rebounds: 22 (Zdzieblowski 6). Turnovers: 7. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: none. Record: 24-4.