All in all, Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team has been competitive and has proven it can stick with just about any team it plays. That is good news.

Unfortunately for the Nighthawks, they have found themselves on the short end of three very close, winnable contests among four nail-biters this winter. That, in part, has resulted in a 3-6 overall record with the pressure mounting if this team will extend the campaign into the South-West Conference and state playoffs.

“We’re taking our chances,” Newtown Coach Matt Murphy said after his Nighthawks let a double-digit lead slip away in a hard-fought 61-58 setback to visiting Masuk of Monroe on January 13.

Against Masuk, Newtown saw a ten-point lead trimmed to a seven, 36-29 at the half, fell behind by a point early in the third, battled back for the lead, and went down 50-45 heading to the fourth. The Hawks fell behind by seven early in the fourth but rallied to claim a 53-52 lead on Aidan Walker’s drive to the basket following a Luke Stewart steal and pass up court.

The Panthers used a 7-0 run to take the lead for good. Emmet Regan’s basket ended the run and got a six-point deficit down to four at 59-55. Drew Bradley hit a foul shot to make it a three-point game, but Masuk iced things at the free throw line.

“Extremely frustrating. We’ve been in these games four times and we’ve come up short in three of them,” Murphy said. “In these situations we’re not making the shots we need to make on the offensive end and on the defensive end we’re not making the stops we need to make.”

That includes a 66-62 loss at Pomperaug of Southbury on January 10. The other tough one was a 62-61 loss to nonconference foe Darien early on.

In the Pomperaug game Walker poured in 24 points, grabbed three rebounds, and had a trio of steals. Bradley scored 11, had five rebounds, one block, and a steal. Regan logged six points, four rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Stewart had four points, four rebounds, five assists, and a steal. Teddy Moxham recorded four points, four rebounds, and two steals. Quinn Velez had four points, three rebounds, three blocks, and a steal. Marcus Gerace scored five points and Asher Williams added three rebounds and three steals.

Against Masuk, Bradley had 20 points, grabbed 18 rebounds — a baker’s dozen of which came on the defensive end — and had a steal. Gerace tallied ten points and a trio of rebounds. Walker finished with eight points and four assists. Stewart had seven points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Moxham had four points, five rebounds, and a block. Quinn Kull scored five points, grabbed a trio of rebounds, had an assist, and blocked a shot. Regan contributed four points, three rebounds, and a block.

“I love the fact the kids are playing to a point we’re in competitive games against good teams. We’ve got to refocus, practice harder, and be ready for these situations when they arise,” Murphy said.

Newtown is 2-2 in conference play early on. The Nighthawks need to be among the top eight teams to qualify for the South-West Conference Tournament and will have to post five more victories in their remaining 11 games to get into the state bracket. There are some tough games on the horizon with several conference foes that have posted three SWC wins already. Following Thursday’s visit to Bunnell of Stratford, the Hawks will face Kolbe Cathedral of Bridgeport at home on Tuesday, January 21 at 7 pm.

New Fairfield, Notre Dame-Fairfield, and Weston also all have three wins in conference play and await the Hawks. Then there are matchups with the likes of always-tough Immaculate of Danbury, Bethel, and Brookfield.

“It’s just going to get harder,” Murphy said of the schedule as the season unfolds.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.