Appleton North boys basketball snags overtime road win at Kimberly

AppletonSportsPage.com

KIMBERLY – Appleton North came back from a seven-point halftime deficit, and survived a miracle shot by Kimberly at the end of regulation, to defeat the Papermakers 74-67 in overtime in a Fox Valley Association boys basketball game Friday night at Kimberly High School.

Kimberly led 33-26 at halftime before the Lightning fought back and led by three in the final seconds. However, Bryson Vieth nailed a 3-point shot from near mid-court for the Papermakers to tie the game and force overtime.

North dominated the overtime period to pull away for a seven-point win.

Will Sweeney scored 19 of his team-high 22 points in the second half and overtime to lead the way for the Lightning, who was ranked No. 4 in this week’s Wissports.net Division 1 state coaches poll and stays unbeaten at 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the Fox Valley Association.

Appleton North coach Chris Kellett said the contribution of Luke Kritzer (14 points) and Sean Hansen (10 points) off the bench played a big part in the second-half comeback. Nate Ramus also added 16 points for the Lightning.

Vieth finished with 17 points and Thomas Meyers added 16 for Kimberly (4-3, 3-2 FVA).

Click here to view the FVA boys basketball standings

Appleton North is back in action Monday and Tuesday at the Kress Center at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The Lightning plays Green Bay Southwest at 8:15 p.m. Monday and D.C. Everest at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday in the Sun Drop Shootout.

Lightning 74, Papermakers 67 (OT)
Appleton North   26   48   –   74
Kimberly   33   34   –   67
APPLETON NORTH (74): Will Sweeney 6 9-11 22, Brayden Hechel 0 1-2 1, Nate Ramus 6 4-4 16, Grant Hardy 2 0-0 4, Sean Hansen 5 0-0 10, Luke Kritzer 5 4-5 14, Will Guilbeault 0 1-2 1, Abraham Tomori 2 2-3 6, Ben Zdzieblowski 0 0-0 0. FG: 26. FT: 21-26. 3-pointers: 1 (Sweeney 1). Fouls: 25. Fouled out: none. Record: 7-0, 5-0 Fox Valley Association.
KIMBERLY (66): Bryson Vieth 5 6-9 17, Aaron Cullen 2 1-1 5, Mikey Wildes 3 2-2 8, Jake Teofilo 0 0-0 0, Thomas Meyers 5 3-5 16, Nathan Wildes 2 1-3 5, Landon VanOfferen 2 4-4 8, Sam Dudek 1 1-2 3, Carson Pendleton 0 2-2 2, Owen Cockrell 1 0-0 3. FG: 21. FT: 19-28. 3-pointers: 5 (Meyers 3, Vieth 1, Cockrell 1). Fouls: 25. Fouled out: Cullen. Record: 4-3, 3-2 Fox Valley Association.