Appleton North boys basketball holds off Oshkosh North for big early-season FVA road win

AppletonSportsPage.com

OSHKOSH – In the rough-and-tumble Fox Valley Association, earning a road win is a big feat, and the Appleton North boys basketball team grabbed a huge one on Friday night at Oshkosh North.

The Lightning took a seven-point lead by halftime and were able to hold on at the end, defeating Oshkosh North 56-53, improving to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the FVA.

After just a few weeks of conference play, there are no undefeated teams left, and Appleton North is now in a four-way tie, along with Neenah, Fond du Lac and Kaukauna, for the lead in the FVA.

Will Sweeney made 8 of 10 free throws and three 3-pointers to pace the Lightning with 21 points, while Grant Hardy added 12, seven coming in the second half.

Appleton North finished with eight 3-pointers in the victory.

Iowa State recruit Zay Mitchell went 12-for-12 at the free throw line in the second half, scoring 18 of his game-high 24 points after halftime, to keep the Spartans (4-3, 2-2 FVA) in it, but it wasn’t quite enough.

Appleton North coach Chris Kellett credited Abraham Tomori for an excellent defensive effort as he was mostly responsible for holding Mitchell 14 points under his outrageous 38 points per game average.

Appleton North will compete at the Rick Majerus WBY Shootout at Concordia University in Mequon next week, taking on Brookfield Central on Thursday and Eau Claire Memorial on Friday, Dec. 27.

Lightning 56, Spartans 53
Appleton North   28   28   –   56
Oshkosh North   21   32   –   53
APPLETON NORTH (56): Will Sweeney 5 8-10 21, Matt Rosplochowski 0 2-2 2, Nathan Ramus 1 1-2 3, Grant Hardy 5 0-1 12, Abraham Tomori 4 0-0 9, Ben Zdzieblowski 2 3-4 8. FG: 17. FT: 14-19. 3-pointers: 8 (Sweeney 3, Hardy 2, Tomori 1, Ramus 1, Zdzieblowski 1). Fouls: 16. Fouled out: none. Record: 4-2, 3-1 Fox Valley Association.
OSHKOSH NORTH (53): Owen Weber 1 0-0 3, Zay Mitchell 6 12-12 24, Devin Garland 0 0-0 0, Dalton Clark 0 0-0 0, Jackson Anderson 2 0-0 6, Jon Coleman 6 0-2 15, Tylan Lister 0 0-0 0, Stefan Stojilovic 2 0-0 5. FG: 17. FT: 12-14. 3-pointers: 7 (Coleman 3, Anderson 2, Stojilovic 1, Weber 1). Fouls: 17. Fouled out: Lister. Record: 4-3, 2-2 Fox Valley Association.