By Steve Bigham

The Newtown High School boys’ basketball team is on its way to this weekend’s South-West Conference (SWC) postseason tournament. The Nighthawks officially qualified for the Big Dance last Saturday when it held on for a 46-40 double-overtime win over Weston.

Senior guard Rich Engel nailed a three-pointer in each of the two overtime periods for the victory. It was Newtown’s sixth win in a row and eighth victory in its last nine games. In just over a month’s time, the locals have gone from 1-4 in the SWC to 9-5. It is believed to be the biggest turn-around season in school history.

The Nighthawks were slated to wrap up the regular season Wednesday night at Foran of Milford. That game – in addition to a handful of other league games to be played later this week – will determine the pairings for Saturday’s eight-team quarterfinal action. Newtown is expected to receive the sixth seed and would, in all likelihood face third-seeded Immaculate, which lost at Kolbe Cathedral of Bridgeport Monday night.

Last month, while his team was reeling from a brutal early-season schedule, Coach John Quinn projected his team would need to run the table the rest of the way if it was to qualify for the playoffs.

“That goal was accurate and it has been achieved,” said Quinn. “We were 0-3 and 1-4 at one point and I started to second guess myself about playing those tough teams early. But I think it made us better.”

This past weekend’s win at Weston was another gutsy performance won more because of Newtown’s defense than its offense. Like its February 15 win over Joel Barlow, the game was not pretty. However, unlike early on, the Nighthawks are finding a away to win those nip-and-tuck matchups. And Engel provided the heroics Saturday night.

In the third period, Engel fell victim to the referees having their backs to the first push – made by a Weston player – and then looking on as he retaliated. It resulted in a technical foul, turning an already bad third quarter into a nightmare. Newtown’s six-point halftime lead was turned into a 23-23 tie heading into the final quarter. The Nighthawks failed to convert a field goal in the third period and were outscored 10-4.

“We needed some energy,” said Quinn. “So I went to Richie and told him, `you gave (Weston) an opportunity to win this game. You go in there, get us together and run the offense. Richie responded.”

Engel scored 10 points and all of them seemed to come at just the right time. His first three pointer appeared to put Newtown in the driver’s seat late in the first overtime. However, Weston’s Mike Evans (21 points) responded with a three of his own to force a second extra period. Just 10 seconds in, Mr Clutch buried another long ball to set the tone for the remainder of the game. Newtown sank a handful of free throws down the stretch for the win and a league playoff invitation.

“Our league is good this year and Weston beat Kolbe earlier in the year so any win away from home – irrespective of the team’s record - is an accomplishment,” Quinn said.

And Weston (6-7 SWC and 11-7 overall) needed to win that game in its last-ditch effort to make the playoffs. The loss extinguished all hopes.

Courtney Steele led Newtown with 16 points, including nine in the first half and four in the second overtime. Junior point guard Andrew Smith also played well, hitting 4-of-5 free throws and handling the ball against a tight 1-3-1 zone.

“I’ve put Andrew into three very difficult games over the course of the season and he’s played great in all of them,” Quinn said.

Newtown has won its last two games despite shooting a Shaquille O’Neal-like 24-for-58 (41.4 percent) from the free throw line.

The SWC quarterfinals will be held on Saturday at Masuk High in Monroe.

“There’s nobody of the remaining eight who we haven’t either played well against and are as good as or haven’t beat,” Quinn said. “We just have to make it happen. I like our kids and I like our chances.”

Newtown could still garner the fifth seed if Masuk falls this week. Under that scenario, Newtown would likely face fourth-seeded Stratford.

“We’ve played Immaculate four times and Stratford three times (all losses) over the past two seasons. They’re not going to beat us again,” Quinn said.

 

I. WESTON   7   6  10 10  3     5     - 40

II. NEWTOWN 8 11   4  9  3    11     - 46

 

WESTON (40): Mike Evans 7 4-6 21, Adam O’Connor 2 2-2 6, Pat Evan 2 1-2 5, Chris Scansaro 0 0-0 0, Adam Renier 3 0-0 6, Matt Clarke 0 2-2 2. Totals: 14 9-12 40.

NEWTOWN (46): Courtney Steele 6 3-9 16, John Fiscella 0 6-10 6, Jason Godoy 3 0-0 6, Rich Engel 4 0-2 10, Bret McEvoy 1 0-0 2, Josh Dittmar 1 0-2 2, John Wesley 0 0-0 0, Andrew Smith 0 4-5 5, Ryan Walker 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 13-28 46.

 

Three-pointers: Steele (N), Engel (N) 2, Evans (W) 3.