MADISON – Wisconsin Lutheran was as good as advertised.
The undefeated and top-ranked Vikings shot well, defended superbly and used their superior length to hold off upset-minded Appleton North68-61 in a WIAA Division 1 state boys basketball semifinal March 20 at the Kohl Center.
"Wisconsin Lutheran is just a heckuva team," North coach Chris Kellett said. "They have a lot of athletic ability … they're really talented and we knew that we would have our work cut out for us. We just couldn't get a shot or two to fall and we missed some free throws. But we gave it everything we had and super proud of our guys. It was just an awesome experience for us."
Appleton North (24-5) played excellent in the second half and gave Wisconsin Lutheran all it could handle. The Lightning pulled to within 53-51 with 5:42 left on a pair of free throws from Matthew Rosplochowski as the Kohl Center brimmed with excitement.
Wisconsin Lutheran outscored the Lightning 15-10 the rest of the way to ice the win. Wisco's Zavier Zens, the recently named Mr. Basketball, had a dunk in the run with Kager Knueppel adding a bucket and a 6-for-6 performance from the free throw line to ice the win.
Nate Ramus had 20 points on 8-for-20 shooting to lead Appleton North. Rosplochowski added 18 points with Will Sweeney finishing with 12 points. North shot well, 22-for-43, from the floor and hit seven 3-pointers.
Wisconsin Lutheran's superior height was evident throughout the game as the Vikings outrebounded North 27-16, including nine on offense.
Zens scored 21 points to lead Wisco (29-0), which also got 20 points from Kinston Knueppel and 17 from Kager Knueppel. Wisco shot 60% from the floor (24-for-40) and 5-for-9 from beyond the arc.
"We knew the game was going to be very hard," Wisconsin Lutheran coach Ryan Walz said. "When you watch them on tape and you see some of the things that they do offensively and how they execute and how they shoot the basketball, you really worry about how you're going to stop them and then the physicality they can play with.
"I hope that at one point that we would get some separation in the second half but that didn't happen. They wouldn't go away."
North was making its first-ever trip to the state tournament. The Lightning advanced to the Kohl Center after a 58-53 victory over Kaukauna in a sectional final. North graduates six seniors including Sweeney, Ramus, Grant Hardy, Ben Zdzieblowski, Howie Guilbeault and Gryphon Armon.
Sweeney, Ramus and Hardy scored more than 1,000 points each in their high school career. Ramus said reaching the Kohl Center as a team for the first time "meant everything."
"We grew up together," Ramus said. "So to see us all thrive this year and to have our own great careers and then come together as a team and do this special thing our senior year. It was just super cool to see it and I'm just so happy for all of us."
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Wisconsin Lutheran outlasts Appleton North in WIAA D1 state semifinal