By Steve Bigham

Eighth grader Andrew Fiscella has the kind of basketball moves court that you don’t often see at the middle school level. He attacks the hoop with gusto, grabs rebounds, passes, sees the floor well and can nail the outside jumper.

“He’s a threat from anywhere on the court. He’s the total package. I wouldn’t be surprised if he saw varsity time up at the high school next year,” noted middle school boys’ coach John Girard.

If that’s the case, he will be playing alongside his brother, John, an NHS junior, who now leads the boys’ varsity hoop team with about a 20 points per game average.

For now, Fiscella is focusing his efforts on the 4-3 middle school team, which picked up a 57-51 home win over Whisconier Middle School of Brookfield Monday. Fiscella led the way with a game-high 30 points, while teammate Ross Coates chipped in with 16 rebounds.

Devon Manfredonia’s three-pointer late in the game helped seal things.

Brian Smith, David Anderson, Matt McFadden and Joe DeFeo also played well in the win.

Newtown suffered a 49-41 loss to the Danbury Police Athletic League (PAL) team January 27. Fiscella went out early with a sprained ankle, but Coates and McFadden picked up the slack, scoring 12 and eight points, respectively. Manfredonia added five points, while DeFeo and Begaglio both played fine all around floor games.

The Lions used a tenacious press for a 24-0 run midway through its game at Schagticoke Middle School in New Milford January 26 on its way to a 64-52 win.

Fiscella scored 34 points, pulled down seven rebounds and came up with 10 steals to lead the winners. Ronnie Shimko scored five points, while Begaglio and Coates chipped in four points each. Coates and Manfredonia each had seven rebounds, while DeFeo and David Wesley each added five.

The Lions were slated to visit Memorial Middle School of Middlebury Thursday then head to Bethel next Monday in a game that had originally been slated for January 10. They host Rochambeau Middle School of Southbury on Tuesday, then, in a makeup game, welcome Jockey Hollow of Monroe on Wednesday.