Game Report: Appleton North (44) vs. Neenah (26)

<p>There was another great FVA matchup to watch on Friday night in the Fox Valley. Powerhouses Appleton North and Neenah squared off for bragging rights to stay towards the top in the FVA. The Rockets came into this battle with a 6-2 conference record and the Lightning 7-1 in conference. The slower paced game featured long defensive battles and in general a slower offensive pace in the halfcourt. Appleton North came away with the victory 44-26.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Game Overview</h2>   <p>Neenah is known for their stout defense and slower tempo motion based offense. Appleton North matched the Rockets' defensive intensity and were fantastic at keeping Neenah out of the paint and employed a heavy dosage of ball pressure on the perimeter. Appleton North held Neenah to nine first half points and did not trail 99 percent of Friday night's contest. Appleton North who runs motion and euro ball screen, spent a lot of time running clock and getting efficient shots as they extended the lead in the second half. Appleton North's [player_tooltip player_id='1561874' first='Nathan' last='Ramus'], [player_tooltip player_id='1561879' first='Will' last='Sweeney'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2447768' first='Matt' last='Rosplochowski']'s defensive effort on the perimeter led to limiting Neenah to 26 points for all 36 minutes of play. Neenah falls to 7-6 on the year, while Appleton North improves to 12-2 sitting one game out of first in the FVA. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Friday Night Standouts</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">Sweeney, a 5'10 lead guard prospect for Appleton North, faced tough pressure from Neenah's backcourt players all night. Sweeney was able to limit turnovers, facilitate offense and get multiple trips to the line on Friday night. Sweeney is a true two-way player and spent a majority of the night pressuring the guards of Neenah and disrupting their flow on offense. Sweeney is one of the staples in the North lineup that is contending for a conference championship in the Fox Valley Association. He finished with 13 points with 9 of them coming from the line due to Sweeney's explosiveness with the ball. Sweeney can really hurt you scoring on drives, but has tremendous court vision to be able to see his teammates on dump offs, kickouts, and skip passes off the bounce. Will is one of the premier guards in the valley. </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Rosplochowski is a very intriguing prospect for the Lightning. The leftie combo guard is fluid and explosive off the catch. Rosplochowski also impressed me on the defensive side of the ball as well getting deflections and heating up Neenah's ball handlers on the perimeter. The 6'1 guard demonstrated his wide ranging skill set finishing the game with 15 points and scoring at all three levels. He had several tough finishes including a very crafty euro step in the half court that showcased his skillset to get to the rim. Rosplochowski has a ton of upside and is poised to have a fantastic rest of his season and club season coming up this spring and summer. The sophomore was averaging 17.0ppg coming into this contest after being named honorable mention FVA last season for Appleton North. </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Schultz was a bright spot for Neenah on Friday night and showed lots of promise as we inch closer to the playoffs. Schultz used his tight handle and quickness to get to the rim despite Appleton North hounding him all night. The 6-1 senior showed that he can score in a variety of ways, converting at the rim, pulling up from mid range with a sweet runner, and knocking down a 3 in transition. Schultz who competed with [program_tooltip program_id='2440507' first='Davis' last='Brothers Elite'] last circuit season, was the lone Rocket in double figures. Schultz will continue to be a feature in all coaches' gameplans in the FVA the rest of the way in 2026.</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Big Picture</h2>   <p>Appleton North proved on Friday they can play and beat teams that want to slow down their offensive attack. North has earned several impressive victories beating Homestead, West Allis Central, and Oshkosh North so far this season. Head Coach Christopher Kellet's squad will look to avenge a 60-59 loss to Kaukauna at the end of the month, which will most likely crown the Fox Valley Association conference champion. The Lightning have a balanced scoring attack with [player_tooltip player_id='1561908' first='Grant' last='Hardy'] (17.6ppg) [player_tooltip player_id='2447768' first='Matt' last='Rosplochowski'] (17.0ppg), [player_tooltip player_id='1561879' first='Will' last='Sweeney'] (16.7ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id='1561874' first='Nathan' last='Ramus'] (9.6ppg) in which any of those players can pour in big scoring performances on any given night. Appleton North is not only a conference contender, but a team that can go on a big run in the tournament. </p>   <p>Neenah had a cold night shooting on Friday but is a team that can be very dangerous the rest of this season. The Rockets have taken De Pere to the wire, lost a nail biter to Kaukauna and have scored some impressive victories this season. [player_tooltip player_id='2224527' first='Nick' last='Schultz'] leads the way the Rockets, but they do have some frontcourt talent in 6-9 senior [player_tooltip player_id='1561872' first='Roan' last='Koeper'] and 6-7 junior [player_tooltip player_id='2389907' first='Jacob' last='Jungwirth']. Neenah, who is coached by Lee Rabas, will be a tough out the rest of the season. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Box Score </h2>   <p><strong>Appleton North 44- </strong> Sweeney 13, Rosplochowski 15, Ramus 4, Hardy 4, Zdzieblowski 8</p>   <p><strong>Neenah 26- </strong>Charles 4, Koeper 3, Schultz 10, Fleege 4, Jungwirth 5 </p>

There was another great FVA matchup to watch on Friday night in the Fox Valley. Powerhouses Appleton North and Neenah squared off for bragging rights to stay towards the top in the FVA. The Rockets came into this battle with a 6-2 conference record and the Lightning 7-1 in conference. The slower paced game featured long defensive battles and in general a slower offensive pace in the halfcourt. Appleton North came away with the victory 44-26.