By Kim J. Harmon

As January begins to fade from memory and February rears its slush-covered head, that’s the sign that the 2005-06 regular season is heading into the homestretch with the South-West Conference indoor track championships on February 4, the wrestling championships on February 11, and the girls’ basketball tournament opening on February 18.

Now it starts to become a matter of securing playoff berths and improving seeding opportunities and finishing up strong.

The girls’ basketball team seems to be finding its stride with four wins in its last five games, the wrestlers are performing far better than some expected and the swimmers have only been beaten once in seven meets.

Although the hockey team is 0-4-2 in its last six games, it still has a great shot at the fourth seed in the Division II tournament but the boys’ basketball team, 1-3 in its last four games, needs to rebound to have a shot at the tournament.

The next few weeks are going to be interesting.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Pomperaug 33, Newtown 32

Newtown 52, Joel Barlow 49

Newtown 54, Bunnell 42

Bunnell turned up the heat and Newtown nearly melted.

Oh, yeah – the Lady Nighthawks were cruising along and had crafted a 26-14 lead midway through the second quarter when the Lady Bulldogs suddenly ratcheted up the pressure on defense and what had been a 12-point lead quickly shrunk to one point.

The first half horn stopped the bleeding.

And gave the ‘Hawks a chance to regroup.

“When we scouted them against Immaculate we saw them go up 26-6 just like that,” said head coach Shawn O’Brien, “so we knew what they were capable of. We talked about letting (what happened in the first half) go and playing like we did in the first eight to 10 minutes.”

It took about 80 seconds, but when senior co-captain Carly Curran drained a three-pointer from the top of the key (her first trey of the season) and junior center Kristi Nowak followed up with a huge block on a baseline drive a few moments later, the ‘Hawks were off and running.

What had been a one-point lead at the close of the first half ballooned to as much as 13 in the third.

“Carly Curran really stepped up for us with her second big game in a row,” said coach O’Brien, “and you can’t say enough about Kristi Nowak, playing so hard on a bad leg. You know what to expect out of her and she gives it to us every night.”

Curran had five points in the first half, but when Bunnell turned up the defensive pressure late in the second half she – like the rest of the ‘Hawks – suffered through some turnovers and missed shots. But Curran stormed out of the locker room to score 12 points in the third period alone, finishing with 17 on the night.

“(Bunnell) had all the energy at the end of the first half,” said Curran, who scored a career-high 20 points in a win over Joel Barlow last Friday. “We dropped a little and they took advantage of it. But when we came out in the second half we had that energy back. Everyone was up for the third quarter.”

Darcy Fiscella popped in a couple of buckets and Ciara Simek added a 10-footer to take some of the load away from Curran and at the close of the third the ‘Hawks had a 44-33 lead. With Kacy Foehrenbach opening up the fourth period with a bucket (her first of the night) and Morgan Knees following up with a bucket of her own (off an assist from Fiscella) with three minutes left the ‘Dogs could only get as close as nine. Simek kept the ‘Hawks well out in front by going 6-of-8 from the free throw line down the stretch.

“We missed a few shots (in the first half) and it goes through their heads some of the tough losses we’ve had,” said O’Brien. “But they kept believing they could win and they did.”

Coming off a 52-49 win over Joel Barlow last Friday, the locals improved to 8-5 overall, 7-3 in the South-West Conference.

Against Joel Barlow, Curran canned 20 points and was 8-of-12 from the free throw line (all told, the ‘Hawks went 23-of-36 from the line while the Lady Falcons went only 6-of-12). Nowak and Foehrenbach added nine points apiece and Fiscella contributed eight.

The mini two-game win streaks comes after a offensively-challenged 33-32 loss to Pomperaug last week in which Christie Iwanicki – with only nine points – was the game-high scorer. Foehrenbach tossed in six points while Simek and Knees added five points apiece for the ‘Hawks, but the Lady Panthers got eight-point efforts from Kaitlynn Cates and Jackie Johannes and escaped the Hawks Nest with the win.

The locals will visit Bridgeport on Friday to take on Kolbe Cathedral before hosting Brookfield next Tuesday and New Fairfield next Thursday.

Pomperaug 33, Newtown 32

NEWTOWN (32): Ciara Simek 2 0-0 5, Carly Curran 1 2-4 4, Kacy Foehrenbach 3 0-0 6, Christie Iwanicki 3 3-6 9, Kristi Nowak 0 1-6 1, Darcy Fiscella 1 0-0 2, Morgan Knees 2 1-2 5, Lauren Ciccomascolo 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 12 7-18 32.

POMPERAUG (33): Kaitlynn Cates 3 2-2 8, Tara Koliani 1 0-0 2, Carla Zinno 1 0-0 2, Lauran Atkinson 0 0-0 0, Lizzie Dunbar 2 1-2 5, Jackie Johannes 3 2-4 8, Jaime Orrico 0 0-0 0, Amanda Shortt 2 1-2 5, Paige Moore 1 0-0 3. TOTALS: 13 6-10 33.

Three-pointers: Simek (N), Moore (P).

Newtown 52, Joel Barlow 49

NEWTOWN (52): Ciara Simek 0 3-6 3, Carly Curran 6 8-12 20, Kacy Foehrenbach 2 4-4 9, Christie Iwanicki 0 1-3 1, Kristi Nowak 4 1-3 9, Lauren Ciccomascolo 0 0-0 0, Morgan Knees 0 2-2 2, Darcy Fiscella 2 4-6 8. TOTALS: 14 23-36 52.

JOEL BARLOW (49): Sara Cram 1 2-2 4, Kara Damascus 4 2-5 10, Jenn Shinall 5 0-0 13, Jacqueline Shinall 4 1-2 13, Kristen Hanczor 1 1-3 3, Melissa Touma 2 0-0 4, Sarah Urban 0 0-0 0, Emily Ahlberg 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 18 6-12 49.

Three-pointers: Ja. Shinall (JB) 4, Je. Shinall (JB) 3, Foehrenbach (N).

Newtown 54, Bunnell 42

BUNNELL (42): Jackie DeFeo 3 0-0 6, Amenda Poniatowski 5 3-4 14, Chrissy Calabrese 4 4-5 15, Shannon Hovan 2 0-3 4, Alussa Minafiore 1 1-2 3, Rebecca Cars 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 15 8-14 42.

NEWTOWN (54): Ciara Simek 1 6-9 8, Carly Curran 7 2-4 17, Kacy Foehrenbach 1 0-0 2, Christie Iwanicki 3 2-3 9, Kristi Nowak 2 1-1 5, Darcy Fiscella 2 0-0 4, Casey Frobey 0 0-0 0, Morgan Knees 4 1-2 9. TOTALS: 20 12-19 54.

Three-pointers: Calabrese (B) 3, Poniatowski (B)m Curran (N), Iwanicki (N).

WRESTLING

Newtown 43, Brookfield 24

Newtown 48, Shelton 34

Middletown 51, Newtown 21

Simsbury over Newtown

Newtown over St. Bernard’s

It was a little too close for comfort.

With just three weight classes left Newtown was clinging to a three-point lead last Wednesday in its South-West Conference bout with Brookfield. But with a forfeit for Gary Andrews looming at 152 pounds, Jeff Bray essentially put the match away for the Nighthawks at 145 pounds by pinning Matt Fachmauch in only 65 seconds.

With the match secure, all that was left was for Jagi Enkhbaatar to secure a thrilling 10-9 decision over Mike McKeever at 160 pounds.

The win over Brookfield was the 100th of head coach Alan Potter’s career (see related story).

After Kenny Cardelle pinned Kevin Cappel at 171 pounds to start the match, it was a close tussle between Newtown and Brookfield. Aadil Ansari pinned Paul Heald at 275 pounds, John Gouveia earned a 9-0 major decision over Dan Hanley at 112 pounds, and Dana Van Buskirk (119 pounds) and Jeff Lipnick (130) pounds both secured forfeit wins.

But when Brookfield’s Scott Sullivan earned a pin at 135 pounds and Kyle Bonn earned a decision at 140 pounds, just three points separated the two schools.

Things may have been too close for comfort, but the ‘Hawks quickly remedied the situation.

Three days later, the ‘Hawks traveled to Clinton to participate in the Morgan Duals and with wins over Shelton and St. Bernard’s the locals finished seventh.

A 48-34 win over Shelton was a pin-fest, with 12 of the 13 bouts on the mat were decided by pins. Luckily for the ‘Hawks, they recorded seven of those pins to go along with a forfeit at 189 pounds.

The only weight class not decided by a pin was 103 pounds where Kim Solheim suffered a 16-6 major decision at the hands of Robby Ferrante. And so Gouveia (112), Bray (145), Andrews (152), Enkhbaatar (160), Matt Meehan (171), Joel Minalgo (215) and Ansari (275) all won by pinfall while Bryant Aliaga registered the forfeit win.

In other Duals action, the ‘Hawks suffered a 51-21 loss to Middletown in Pool C before being stopped by Simsbury in the consolation semi-finals. The locals then registered a win over St. Bernard’s in the bout for seventh place to help them improve to 11-7 overall, 6-2 in the South-West Conference.

The wrestlers hosted Stratford under the lights on Wednesday and will face New Britain and Newington on Saturday before returning home next Wednesday to host Bunnell.

Newtown 43, Brookfield 25

171: Kenny Cardelle (N) pinned Kevin Cappel 1:24; 189: John Wamger (B) tech. fall Bryant Aliaga 17-1; 215: Max Beaudry (B) pinned Joel Minalgo 4:42; 275: Aadil Ansari (N) pinned Paul Heald 1:04; 103: Joe Levine (B) dec. Kimberly Solheim 15-9; 112: John Gouveia (N) maj. dec. Dan Hanley 9-0; 119: Dana Van Buskirk (N) won by forfeit; 125: Matt Kozak (B) maj. dec. Mark Bonamici 10-0; 130: Jeff Lipnick (N) won by forfeit; 135: Scott Sulliven (B) pinned Mitch Rucinski 3:36; 140: Kyle Bonn (B) dec. Colin O’Connor 7-2; 145: Jeff Bray (N) pinned Matt Fachmauch 1:05; 152: Gary Andrews (N) won by forfeit; 160: Jagi Enkhbaatar (N) dec. Mike McKeever 10-9.

Morgan Duals –

Newtown 48, Shelton 34

103: Robby Ferrante (S) major dec. Kim Solheim 16-6; 112: John Gouveia (N) pinned Nick Amico 4:56; 119: Chris Ly (S) pinned Dana Van Buskirk 1:16; 125: Justin Krofssik (S) pinned Mark Bonamici 2:56; 130: Mark Spisto (S) pinned Jeff Lipnick 1:31; 135: Geoff Toal (S) pinned Andrew Kemetz 1:31; 140: Matt Ehalt (S) pinned Mitch Rucinski 1:55; 145: Jeff Bray (N) pinned Anthony Abraham 0:39; 152: Gary Andrews (N) pinned Derek Leszczysnki 3:14; 160: Jagi Enkhbaatar (N) pinned Ben Melsenti 4:19; 171: Matt Meehan (N) pinned Rob Lisi 3:19; 189: Bryant Aliaga (N) by forfeit; 215: Joel Minalgo (N) pinned Phil Abraham 1:20; 275: Aadil Ansari (N) pinned Imre Pugaskus 2:23

BOYS BASKETBALL

Pomperaug 51, Newtown 46

Joel Barlow 55, Newtown 50

Bunnell 64, Newtown 56

It was a terrific rally, but it wasn’t enough.

Down 19 points to Bunnell heading into the fourth quarter, the Newtown High School boys’ basketball team put on an amazing rally with a 29-point effort. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs scored 18 points of their own and held off the hard-charging Nighthawks.

With the loss, the ‘Hawks fell to 4-8 overall, 2-4 in the South-West Conference.

Kevin Troy canned 16 points and Joe DeVellis added 11 more and the pair combined for three of the team’s five three-pointers on the night. But three different Bulldog players scored in double figures – Danny Paolini (16), Taylor Lasko (13) and Dwight Franklin (11) – to offset the performance of Troy and DeVellis.

It was the third loss in the last four games for the ‘Hawks, who snapped a two-game losing streak on Saturday with a 76-64 win over New Fairfield. It was the locals’ most impressive offensive output of the season and it was keyed by a 25-point effort from Dave McLaughlin, who dropped in five three-pointers along the way.

Three other Newtown players scored in double figures with Mike Kennedy canning 14 while hitting 10-of-10 free throws. Troy popped in 12 points and DeVellis added 10. The ‘Hawks took 48 free throws in the game and made 37 of them.

A loss to Joel Barlow last Friday was essentially decided at the free throw line as the Falcons went 10-of-12 at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter – and 17-of-20 for the game – to offset a 16-point effort by McLaughlin and secure a 55-50 win.

It was the second time this season (the first was against Ridgefield) the ‘Hawks were stopped by a brilliant fourth-quarter foul shooting performance.

Matt Lisi, Mike D’Amato and Roger Lehman were the free throw artists and combined to score 39 points while hitting 15-of-17 free throws. McLaughlin powered the ‘Hawks, pouring in 16 points with the aid of four three-pointers, as DeVellis added 11 more.

Last Wednesday, the ‘Hawks dropped a 51-46 decision to Pomperaug despite another 16-point effort (and three three-pointers) from McLaughlin. Troy tossed in 10 points of his own with a couple three-pointers but the Panthers’ Jeff Langrock led all scorers with 18 markers while Brian McDonald added another 12.

The free throw line made a big difference in that game, as well. Both teams hit 16 field goals while Newtown have five treys to two for Pomperaug, but the Panthers were 17-of-25 from the charity stripe while the ‘Hawks were only 9-of-15.

The locals will host Kolbe Cathedral on Friday before visiting Brookfield next Tuesday.

NOTE: In four games this past week, junior center Mike Kennedy was 16-of-18 from the free throw line and currently is 38-for-51 for the season … good 74.5 percentage.

Pomperaug 51, Newtown 46

NEWTOWN (46): Joe DeVellis 3 1-2 7, Marc Ingerman 0 1-2 1, Mike Kennedy 4 1-2 9, Dave McLaughlin 4 5-5 16, Mike Mitchell 1 1-2 3, Jack Quinn 0 0-0 0, Dan Smith 0 0-0 0, Kevin Troy 4 0-0 10. TOTALS: 16 9-15 46.

POMPERAUG (51): Jeff Langrock 6 6-8 18, Brian McDonald 4 3-4 12, Ross Therrien 0 2-2 2, Steve Piorkowski 0 0-0 0, John Sharkey 0 0-0 0, Kyle Fisher 1 0-0 2, Ken Pun 1 3-4 5, Dave Piccolo 3 1-3 7, Tom Piccolo 1 2-4 5, Chris Miller 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16 17-25 51.

Three-pointers: McLaughlin (N) 3, Troy (N) 2, McDonald (P), Piccolo (P).

Joel Barlow 55, Newtown 50

JOEL BARLOW (55): Matt Lisi 3 5-5 12, Mike D’Amato 3 5-6 10, Kevin Kelly 2 0-0 4, Roger Lehman 5 5-6 17, Rob Munce 0 0-0 0, Thad Bogardus 0 0-0 0, Aaron Kaufman 0 0-1 0, Ryan Brown 4 2-2 12. TOTALS: 17 17-20 55.

NEWTOWN (50): Joe DeVellis 4 3-3 11, Dave McLaughlin 6 0-0 16, Mike Kennedy 3 2-3 8, Jason Smith 0 0-0 0, Mike Mitchell 3 0-0 6, Kevin Troy 0 4-6 4, Marc Ingerman 0 0-0 0, Shaun Coakley 0 0-2 0, Jack Quinn 2 1-4 5. TOTALS: 18 10-16 50.

Three-pointers: Dave McLaughlin (N) 4, Roger Lehman (JB) 2, Matt Lisi (JB), Mike D’Amato (JB).

Newtown 76, New Fairfield 64

NEWTOWN (76): Joe DeVellis 1 8-10 10, Marc Ingerman 0 3-4 3, Mike Kennedy 2 10-10 14, Dave McLaughlin 8 4-6 25, Mike Mitchell 1 2-2 4, Jack Quinn 2 2-4 6, Dan Smith 1 0-0 2, Jason Smith 0 0-0 0, Kevin Troy 2 8-12 12. TOTALS: 17 37-48 76.

NEW FAIRFIELD (64): Jim Wynimko 2 1-3 5, Jesse Schwaeber 5 0-1 12, Isa Kurti 2 0-0 5, Tony Baum 4 1-1 11, Dan Negron 4 2-2 12, Sam Osborne 0 1-2 1, Steve Bulan 0 1-2 1, James Nabozna 1 5-6 8, Pat Cassidy 3 0-0 6, Greg McCain 1 0-0 3.TOTALS: 21 11-17 64.

Three-pointers: McLaughlin (N) 5, Negron (NF) 2, Schwaeber (NF) 2, Nabozna (NF), Baum (NF), Kurti (NF).

Bunnell 64, Newtown 56

NEWTOWN (56): Joe DeVellis 4 1-3 11, Dave McLaughlin 3 0-0 8, Mike Kennedy 2 3-3 7, Mike Mitchell 1 2-2 4, Kevin Troy 6 3-4 16, Marc Ingerman 1 0-1 2, Jack Quinn 3 0-0 6, Dan Smith 0 2-2 2, Jason Smith 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20 11-15 56.

BUNNELL (64): Danny Paolini 6 1-2 16, James Jordan 0 1-3 1, Matt Wojcicki 2 0-0 4, Taylor Lasko 5 0-0 13, Greg Veteri 1 2-2 5, Gary Little 1 4-7 6, Dwight Franklin 5 1-2 11, Matt Carey 1 0-2 2, Terrell Coward 3 0-1 6.TOTALS: 24 9-19 64.

Three-pointers: Paolini (B) 3, Lasko (B) 3, DeVellis (N) 2, McLaughlin (N) 2, Troy (N), Veteri (B).