In 11 years of coaching at Newtown High School, Tim Tallcouch has had his share of memorable victories. A 62-56 home win over Platt High of Meriden on February 4 ranks right up there among the best. Tallcouch, in fact, called it one of the top three — lining up alongside two state tournament triumphs: Over Crosby of Waterbury and Tallcouch’s former team, Wilton. This being a regular-season tilt, that’s saying something.

Factor in a combination of the way Newtown played and the caliber of the opponent — Platt came into Newtown’s gym with a 12-2 record competing in the tough Central Connecticut Conference — and it added up to the kind of victory that makes the hours of practice, watching game tape, and player commitment extra worthwhile.

“They can beat you so many different ways but my boys wouldn’t allow us to be beaten today. It was because of their poise — and they did it magnificently,” Tallcouch said.

The Nighthawks are having a solid year in their own right. They followed up back-to-back wins over teams nicknamed the Panthers, defeating host Pomperaug of Southbury 55-37 on February 2 before defeating the Platt Panthers, with a 54-37 Senior Night win over Joel Barlow of Redding on February 6, and carried a 12-5 overall record (8-2 in South-West Conference play) into their final three regular-season games.

A 2-3 zone defense, that held Platt to its lowest point total of the campaign, and concentration when the Hawks had possession were key in the win over Platt, Tallcouch said.

“We valued each possession. Our turnovers were low against a school that pressures you,” said Newtown’s coach, whose team made the Panthers work hard on defense throughout the game and turned the ball over just 15 times compared to 21 in its last loss, a 66-40 setback to a similarly tough, pressuring Notre Dame-Fairfield squad on January 30. Tallcouch noted that his players adjusted to everything the Panthers’ defense threw at them.

“You can see they’re athletic, they’re big, they can shoot, they can rebound,” Tallcouch said of the Platt team, which had scored 79 or more points eight times, logging totals in the high 80s on a handful of occasions.

The matchup was tied at 15 apiece after one quarter of play and Newtown outscored Platt 19-7 in the second to seize a 34-22 halftime advantage. NHS led 47-35 going into the fourth and saw the Panthers clip the lead in half with just over a minute remaining, but get no closer.

Eli Williams answered a Platt 3-pointer with a basket despite a foul to push the lead back to eight with 1:23 left. After the Panthers again got to within six, Newtown broke the full-court press and Ben Barber scored on an uncontested layup for a 58-50 lead with 1:15 to go. Platt eventually pulled to within four with 20 seconds left, but Williams had another response basket to help seal the win.

Makai Coleman led Newtown with 26 points, going 7-of-14 from 3-point land, Declan Regan had 15, and Williams and Connor Hintze both scored nine. Coleman and Saahil Ray both had five assists. Williams had a dozen rebounds and Regan and Ray each grabbed ten boards. Williams came away with a trio of steals and had four shot blocks, Regan had two steals and a block, and Ray came away with a pair of steals.

Newtown has had a propensity to start a bit slowly before turning things on and, against Platt, got its offense going from the get-go but used a second-quarter run to seize control. Coleman hit six of his shots from downtown in the opening half, draining three in each of the first two stanzas. Hintze scored all of his points on a trio of 3-pointers, as Newtown connected on an impressive 10 of 24 from long range in the game.

The seniors, Williams, Ray, Hintze, and Connor Dullinger, were honored when Newtown got back to SWC action against Barlow two days later. Newtown led 13-12 after one quarter and, once again, pulled away in the second period. NHS outscored the Falcons 17-7 in the second for a 30-19 lead at the break. Regan had 23 points and Coleman scored 18 to pace the offense. Ray scored seven, Andrew Grenier had four, and Dullinger chipped in with two points.

Regan had a double-double, pulling down 13 rebounds to go along with a steal and two blocks. Ray had six rebounds, three assists, and four steals, and Coleman had three assists and a pair of steals.

Newtown, after visiting Bunnell of Stratford on Thursday, will visit New Milford on Tuesday, February 14; the Hawks close out the regular slate at home on Friday, February 17, when Kolbe Cathedral of Bridgeport visits — all at 7 pm.

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