NHS Boys Battle Growing Pains, Show Promise

By Andy Hutchison

Combine an entirely new starting lineup with some tough early-season games and not a whole lot could be expected of any team. Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team battled through that scenario to start the season with a 2-4 record heading into what Coach John Quinn and his players speculate will be a portion of the schedule in which the team can have some success if not turn things around.

The Nighthawks are coming off a 57-34 loss to Pomperaug — one of the top South-West Conference teams — on January 2; Newtown trailed by just six points at the half before the Panthers pulled away. Now comes a ministretch of games in which Newtown expects to challenge, perhaps string together some wins.

The Nighthawks visit Joel Barlow on Friday, January 9, and go to Bethel this coming Tuesday before returning for just their second home game in the first month to face Weston on January 16. Barlow is 4-2, but has had a light schedule and one of those defeats came to Bethel which since lost three straight heading into this week. Of course what shows on paper doesn’t necessarily mean much (the Newtown girls handed then-unbeaten New Fairfield a loss on Tuesday — see related story).

The boys defeated Weston in the consolation game of Weston’s holiday tournament, so that’s another apparent opportunity to earn a “W.” Quinn expects all of these upcoming games to be competitive, but anticipates that his team has a good shot to win them all in part because the new-look squad is improving.

“That’s what we’re aiming for,” his son and senior captain Dan Quinn said. “We’re still getting used to each other — we’re all still optimistic about the season.”

After all, it is a rebuilding phase for this team.

“We’re starting to get used to playing with each other, which is the big thing,” fellow senior captain Kurt Nacewicz added.

The captains point out that the team is getting accustomed to the speed of varsity play. Among the early-season defeats were those against Bunnell, a competitive Ridgefield team from the FCIAC and another nonconference team — Norwich Free Academy. “We threw the kids right into the mix,” the coach said of the not-so-easy early-on schedule. “We have a very athletic, quick, physical team that projects to be very good as we progress throughout the year.”

Senior captain Connor Collier is optimistic about his team’s chances against Barlow and Bethel because of the Hawks’ familiarity with the area foes. “We’ve seen them before,” said Collier, adding that the players competed in the same summer leagues.

Pending Mother Nature-forced schedule changes, Newtown plays just two of its first 11 games at home but finishes the season with eight out of nine games at The Hawks Nest.