By Kim J. Harmon

Call it the post-holiday blues or the winter doldrums, but SOMETHING was finally able to stop the Newtown seventh-grade boys’ travel basketball team.

After reeling off 17 consecutive wins dating all the way back to November 19 (a 70-46 win over Shepaug), the Hawks have dominated the opposition and now boast a 17-1 overall record, 3-1 in the Fairfield County Basketball League ‘B’ Division.

The only loss came last weekend, a 37-33 decision against league foe Darien YMCA Blue.

The Hawks, coached by Bill Kneisel and Rob Frangione, have the benefit of legitimate front court and low post players along with swift, defensive-minded and sharp-shooting guards. That combination helped the Hawks roll to five wins – and the championship – in the recent Danbury Christmas Classic.

Down low the Hawks are led by Josh Engler, Matt Datin and Grant Braun. While Engler may be “one of the most complete basketball players in the county,” according to coach Kneisel, Datin – a 5-11 lefty center – is “a force” while Braun is “a tremendous low post player” who always seems to end up with eight points and 10 rebounds because so much attention is being paid to Datin and Engler.

In the back court, the Hawks are led by Ishan Tatake, Robert Frangione and Jack Kneisel and those three have been instrumental in seeing that the guard play has been far better this year than last year,” said coach Kneisel. “Our turnovers are way down.” While Jack Kneisel is “a great defender” and Frangione “handles the ball extremely well,” Tatake is “the best pure shooter on the team” and a solid offensive weapon.

Max Nacewicz, Robbie Carroll and Lewis Thompson are the key role players on the team and “they have made a tremendous difference this year,” said coach Kneisel. And newcomers Kyle Vignone and Thomas Coscia have brought a blend of “speed and athleticism that has made our team much more athletic.”

The Hawks also benefit from the presence of Sean Maher, “probably the most gifted basketball player on the team,” said coach Kneisel. “He runs the floor as well as any seventh-grader could. He is a tremendous open court player.”

In the 17 wins that group has registered so far this season, nine have been at least 11 points. There have been a few narrow wins, as well, but all told the Hawks are out-scoring their opponents by an average of 15 points.

Their most decisive win was a 73-30 decision over Southbury back on December 2 but the Hawks have also pounded Brookfield (57-28), Shepaug (70-46), Easton (62-31) and New Milford (51-27). But aside from the loss to Darien, the Hawks have also had to battle hard to overcome teams like Bethel (45-43), New Haven BGC (58-53) and Ridgefield BA (69-62).

Everyone contributes to the effort.

“We took 12 kids this year because we have a very busy schedule,” said coach Kneisel, “but everyone gets to play and contribute on the court.”

They all had a hand in the Danbury Christmas Classic championship. The Hawks opened with a 52-46 win over New Milford and then the tight win over Bethel. A 41-32 win over Ridgefield-St. Mary’s and a 51-27 win over New Milford advanced the Hawks into the tournament final where they defeated the Danbury PAL Warriors, 45-39.

Both Ridgefield BA and Danbury PAL are Division ‘A’ teams in the FCBL.

The Hawks are slated to host the Fairfield PAL Heat on Friday at Reed Intermediate School and will then travel to St. Luke’s in New Canaan on Saturday to take on New Canaan Red and Middlebrook Middle School in Wilton to take on Division ‘A’ opponent Wilton.

“These kids have played a lot of basketball,” said coach Kneisel, “and they are still improving.”