Kimberly tops Oshkosh North

Ben Boots made a free throw with 1.7 seconds remaining as Kimberly beat Oshkosh North 40-39 in a Fox Valley Association boys’ basketball game Friday in Kimberly.

The Spartans (2-1) led most of the game until the Papermakers strung together a 5-0 spurt midway through the fourth quarter to take a 36-32 advantage.

Phillip Flory trimmed the deficit to two for North, but Boots — who paced Kimberly with 14 points — drained a 3-pointer to give Kimberly its biggest lead at 39-34.

Flory then hit a free throw before knocking down a jumper with 1:03 left to pull the Spartans within two points. Austin Weyenberg then missed the front end of a bonus free throw situation for Kimberly and Seth Taylor made a runner in the lane with 27 seconds to tie the score.

Kimberly held for the final shot and Boots was able to draw the foul on Flory with just more than a second left. Boots made the first, then intentionally missed the second and time ran out.

“Ben got the ball, just a clutch kid,” said Kimberly coach Lucky Wurtz. “Great shot fake. Ben made some very intelligent plays down the stretch. Just clutch.”

The game marked the opener for the Papermakers, whose season was delayed with many of its players part of the WIAA Division 1 state championship football team.

“They did not try to rationalize or make any excuses,” said Wurtz. “It was a gritty win and I’m proud of the kids for that.”

Oshkosh North: Bauer 2, Trochinski 2, Taylor 12, Madut 6, Flory 16, Marquardt 1. Totals 17 3-8 39. Three-pointers: Taylor, Flory. Fouls: 11.

Kimberly: Johnson 4, Tessner 5, VandenBoom 3, Weyenberg 5, Boots 14, Chevalier 3, Janssen 6. Totals 16 2-6 40. Three-pointers: Boots 2, Tessner, VandenBoom, Weyenberg, Chevalier. Fouls: 11.

Neenah 42, Appleton West 32

At Appleton, the Terrors trailed the highly touted Rockets by just four after three quarters before Neenah sank 9 of 12 free throws in the final period to nail down the win.

Matt Heldt topped the Rockets with 11 points and Ty Hegg added 10.

“Defensively, we had a great effort,” said West coach Brennan Hussey. “We played very solid defense, but struggled to find offense. It was a tight game all the way through. We held them to four points in the third quarter and that’s saying something because Neenah has a great team.”

Jeason Thomas led West with seven points.

Neenah: Hegg 10, Entwisle 9, Boccheciamp 1, Jung 7, Matulle 4, Heldt 11. Totals 13 12-21 42. Three-pointers: Hegg, Jung, Matulle, Heldt. Fouls: 14.

Appleton West: Thompson 3, Owens 3, Herbst 2, D. Smith 1, Thomas 7, Leadley 3, Flynn 3, Otto 2, Reader 8. Totals 13 5-14 32. Three-pointer: Leadley. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: Owens.

Kaukauna 43, Appleton East 26

At Kaukauna, Nic Patterson scored 12 points and Derek Hansen and Carter Belling had nine apiece to lead the balanced Ghosts past the Patriots.

Hansen scored five of his points in the first quarter to drive the Ghosts to a 10-2 lead at the end of the period and Kaukauna was never challenged.

Trent Brunker topped East with nine points.

Appleton East: Brice 2, Herrmann 8, Thome 2, Brunker 9, Meyer 5. Totals 11 1-1 26. Three-pointers: Herrmann 2, Meyer. Fouls: 12.

Kaukauna: Patterson 12, McCabe 7, Moreau 2, Hansen 9, Smith 4, Belling 9. Totals 18 4-7 43. Three-pointers: McCabe, Hansen, Belling. Fouls: 7.

Hortonville 63, Appleton North 38

At Appleton North, the Polar Bears drilled seven 3-pointers and outscored the Lightning 18-5 in the third quarter to pull away.

Kyle Witthuhn led the Polar Bears with 15 points, while Ryan Krueger and Charlie Schabo added 13 apiece.

Jacquan McGraw topped the Lightning with 12 points.

Hortonville: Frederick 7, Killoren 3, Sommers 2, Witthuhn 15, Loveland 2, Thompson 5, Krueger 13, Schabo 13, Turkow 3. Totals 23 11-21 63. Three-pointers: Krueger 2, Frederick, Witthuhn, Thompson, Schabo. Fouls: 21.

Appleton North Mologne 2, Mattioli 9, Crane 2, Gasick 4, Valk 4, McGraw 12, Bellin 5. Totals 10 14-23-38. Three-pointers: Mattioli 2, Valk, Bellin. Fouls: 19.