Before Madison
No. 1 seeded, eighth-ranked team in the country and current Division I Champions, Wisconsin Lutheran Vikings, aim to win their third straight title in three years after their win over No. 4-seeded Appleton North.
The Vikings have been riding the wave of high success over the past three seasons due to players such as 2026 Mr. Basketball Zavier Zens and the Knueppel brothers. Including Hornets’ potential Rookie of the Year Kon Knueppel, who won the Division 2 title with the Vikings in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Appleton North Lightning made its first appearance at the Kohl Center in program history.
The Vikings this year have been led by 3-star Northern Iowa commit Zavier Zens. He is ranked No. 3 in his draft class, alongside being honored with Mr. Basketball for this season. He has scored 23.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
The other two top scorers are Junior Kager Knueppel and Sophomore Kinston Knueppel. Kager Knueppel has scored 16.4 points per game while averaging 7.2 rebounds. He is a 3-star recruit and ranked 5th in his class in the state. He recently gained offers from Purdue and Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Kinston Knueppel scored 10 points on average. Their younger brother, Freshman Kash Knueppel, sits on the bench but averages 1.9 points per game.
The Lightning were led by Sophomore Matthew Rosplochowski. He has averaged 15.8 points per game. He is followed by senior Will Sweeney and senior Grant Hardy, who both score 15 points on average. Nathan Ramus is their rebound leader with an average of 6.2 rebounds per game.
First Half – Raiding the Paint
During team introductions before tipoff, the Appleton North student section booed when Wisconsin Lutheran was introduced, setting up the tone before the game started. Wisconsin Lutheran won the tipoff and scored off two free throws by Kinston Knueppel. The Lightning responded with an and-1 from Nathan Ramus. Both offenses attacked the rim aggressively early on, but the Vikings maintained an 11-6 lead in the first four minutes.
Nearing the midway point, both teams remained red hot. The Vikings slowly expand their lead to 19-11. At this point in the game, Wisconsin Lutheran has shot 6/8 (75%) in range while Appleton North has shot 4/7 (57%). Both squads have also been consistent beyond the arc, with the Vikings shooting 3/3 and the Lightning shooting 2/4.
Near the end of the period, Zens slammed a huge dunk, causing the arena to erupt in uproar. The lead for Wisconsin Lutheran had grown further to 33-22. Both teams are still maintaining their defensive pressure on each other, but the Vikings remained unfazed by the Lightning’s defense. After a buzzer-beater attempt from the Vikings, their lead stood strong at 37-27.
The leading scorer for the Vikings was Kinston Knueppel with 14 points, while Nathan Ramus was the leading scorer with 10 points. Both teams struggled with guarding the paint during the half.
Second Half – False Storm Brewing
In the opening possession for Appleton North, Matthew Rosplochowski made a jumper to get the offense started. However, Wisconsin Lutheran always has a response, keeping the lead around 10 points. By the four-minute mark, the Vikings were up 44-34 on the Lightning. After a three-pointer for the Lightning, they have reduced the lead to 44-41 by the 12-minute mark.
However, the lead increased again due to Kinston Knueppel’s efforts, leaving Appleton North with a 48-41 deficit, after a hotly contested dead ball with Kager Knueppel on the ground. By the midway point of the half, Wisconsin Lutheran remained in the lead 51-46 after a second-chance three from the Lightning’s Evan Ryan.
Ramus was fouled on his layup attempt, allowing him to make one out of two free throws to reduce the lead to 51-47, but Zens responded with a layup to increase their shrinking lead. Right after that, Evan Ryan made a layup but missed the free throw after getting fouled, decreasing their lead to 53-49.
Wisconsin Lutheran was startled by Appleton North’s offensive explosion as they kept fouling them in the paint, allowing Rosplochowski to make both free throws to reduce the deficit to just two.
By the six-minute mark, a timeout was called. The Lightning student section grew louder and more energetic. The Appleton North defense began to apply heavy pressure on Wisconsin Lutheran. However, the Lightning’s tempo started to slow down. The lead grew to 60-53 for Wisconsin Lutheran.
By the 2:15 mark, Appleton North started rushing its offense after a Zens’ fastbreak dunk.
Will Sweeney of the Lightning made an and-1 to reduce the deficit to six points with a second under two minutes, but there was not enough time for Appleton North. The Wisconsin Lutheran Vikings advance to the title game with a 68-61 victory.
Both Zavier Zens and Kinston Knueppel lead the team on the court tonight with 20+ points. Kager Knueppel also scored 17 and acquired eight rebounds.
Coming Up
Wisconsin Lutheran will play Madison Memorial for a chance to three-peat and finish off an undefeated season.