Neenah Rockets rout Superior to punch ticket back to Division 1 boys basketball state tournament

WISCONSIN RAPIDS − Cal Klesmit does more than just score and that was on full display Saturday.

The 6-foot-2 senior guard dished out an astounding 21 assists and helped four teammates reach double digits in points in the Neenah Rockets’ 93-65 victory over Superior in a WIAA Division 1 boys basketball sectional final.

The win catapults the defending state champion Rockets (18-10) into Friday’s state semifinals at the Kohl Center in Madison. The opponent will be announced Sunday.

“Coach told me before the game that we knew they were playing zone,” Klesmit said. “And my sophomore year, a team played zone against us and he was like, ‘I want that Cal tonight and I said, OK, I got you.' I think I had more assists this game than that game but that was the plan coming in, get everyone involved early and just put them away early.”

Neenah raced to a 28-10 lead and led 50-19 at the half over the Spartans.

Klesmit was in the middle of it all, whipping passes into the paint to his teammates with sophomore Luke Jung being the main beneficiary. Jung finished with 19 points and nine rebounds in a reserve role. Jackson Schlomann led Neenah with 24 points with Brady Corso (16) and Sam Coulthard (15) also scoring in double digits.

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“We played better offensively,” Neenah coach Lee Rabas said. “And we talk about moving the basketball and sharing it and just the little things like against a team that plays zone and doing a good job ball-faking and pass-faking. In the first (half) we moved the ball well, we were aggressive and we only had one turnover in the first half. We had 19 assists. Kind of a culmination of doing the things that we talk about on a daily basis.”

Neenah finished fourth in the Fox Valley Association this season and may have been overlooked before the postseason started. Coulthard said the progress the Rockets have made over the past few weeks has been “absolutely phenomenal.”

“To be honest, nobody thought we would be here,” he said. “And to see our guys work hard every day in practice is awesome. We push each other and that’s the reason why we’re here. The progression has been insane.”

Neenah 93, Superior 65

Neenah 50 43 – 93

Superior 19 46 – 65

Neenah: Schlomann 24, Coulthard 18, Klesmit 6, Corso 13, Armstrong 2, Van Dyke 2, Janssen 2, Wunderlich 2, Swanson 3, Jung 19. 3-pt: Coulthard 4, Klesmit, Corso 3, Van Dyke, Janssen, Wunderlich. FT: 8-10. Fouls: 15.

Superior: Lull 9, Sanigor 18, Ford 11, Moen 1, Johnson 3, Lambert 3, Anderson 14, Eisel 6. 3-pt: Lull, Sanigor 2, Ford 3, Lambert, Anderson 3. FT: 9-13. Fouls: 13.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Neenah Rockets returning to WIAA boys basketball state tournament