Nighthawks (aka Road Warriors) Shoot Past .500 Mark Against Weston, Fall To Stratford

By Andy Hutchison

Only a few days removed from its lowest point total of the season (a 27-21 win at Bethel on January 13), the Newtown High School boys’ basketball team put together its most productive offensive night of the campaign in 75-53 thumping of visiting Weston on January 16.

It was a tight contest for two quarters. The Nighthawks, though, scored 25 points in the third quarter alone to pull away en route to nearly tripling its previous game score when all was said and done.

Most importantly, whatever number of points they score, the Nighthawks found another way to win. In the triumph over winless Weston (0-9), the Hawks got their third straight win and, in the process, got over the .500 mark for the first time this season. Newtown then lost 72-54 at unbeaten Stratford on Tuesday, to carry a 5-5 record into Friday’s game at 4-6 Masuk which will end a stretch of nine of 11 games on the road to start the campaign.

In the win over Weston, Newtown led just 26-24 late in the second quarter but outscored the Trojans 8-1, capped by a Kurt Nacewicz 3-pointer just before halftime, for a 34-25 lead at the intermission. NHS carried that momentum into the second half and went on a 15-1 run overall to build a 41-25 cushion two minutes into the third quarter. The Nighthawks established a 59-35 lead through three quarters behind sharp 3-point shooting and 3-point plays the old-fashioned way.

Newtown players combined to sink six 3-pointers and shoot 22-of-25 from the foul line.

The team practiced “pressure free throws” earlier in the week, Coach John Quinn said. The players faced one-and-one shooting scenarios at practice. And they did this in gamelike situations — while a little worn down from having just sprinted. This was done in at attempt to improve on foul shooting troubles and it certainly seemed to pay off.

“We worked hard in practice on those,” Captain Dan Quinn said.

Quinn hit three of Newtown’s trifectas and led all scorers with 19 points. “It was just one of those days when I was feeling it,” he said. Nacewicz, Dan Lynch and Nick Nazer also hit shots from beyond the arc. Connor Collier had 17 points, Nacewicz dropped in 11, Josh Engler had 7 and Ian Cooper added 6. Three other players got on the score sheet, with Max Paynter scoring four (all from the line) and Vincent DeAngelis dropping in two more free throws and George Zaruba added two points.

“It was great. It was a team effort — we all performed,” Dan Quinn said. “I think we came out strong in the second half.”

“I think the kids are really coming along. It’s exciting to be a part of it,” said Chris LaRocque, a 2003 graduate who played under Coach John Quinn and recently joined the coaching staff.

LaRocque said the key to the Hawks pulling away was that the players became patient on offense and began to effectively run the plays they wanted.

“Things just started bouncing our way,” Lynch added. “Kurt hit that big 3 before halftime.”

“We gave them some open looks for 3-pointers — they hit ’em,” Weston Coach Ryan Errico said. “They got some open looks and, to their credit, they knocked them down.”

The Nighthawks will look to get back to knocking down the shots (and the opponents) on Friday, January 23 at Masuk, before returning home Tuesday to face Bunnell in the first of four straight scheduled home tilts.

Despite the setback on the score sheet, Tuesday’s loss to Stratford was not a setback in the improvement of this new-look team, Coach Quinn said. Dating back to last season, Stratford has won 28 games in a row. The team is one of the best in the state, the Newtown coach said. Engler, who is only a sophomore, led Newtown scorers with 14 points in the defeat.

Beginning with Tuesday’s Bunnell contest, Newtown will play eight of its final nine games on its home floor.

“The kids are looking forward to that and finishing on a high note,” John Quinn said.