Girls

Grade 6

Newtown 48, New Fairfield 35: In a budding rivalry, these teams met for the fourth time this season. Newtown, deciding not to press due to having only seven players, still turned up the defensive pressure that propelled them to leads of 14-1 after one quarter and 24-14 at the half. New Fairfield came out with a greater level of intensity in the second half and fought all the way back to tie the game at 26 late in the third quarter. They never could get the lead , however, and the full court press that allowed them to tie the game was their ultimate undoing as Newtown repeatedly broke it in the fourth quarter for several layups. Meghan Doyle was the catalyst as she scored 14 points and dished out several assists. Jillian Pieretti was clutch down the stretch, scoring 8 of her 10 points in the fourth quarter. Megan Goyda returned from injury to score 9 points and played big in the paint, as did Kamdynn Moroney (4 points) and Cassidy Datin (2 points). Olyvia Shaw (4 points) drew the assignment of covering New Fairfield’s top scorer, and she did not disappoint. Finally, Jess Maturo (5 points) did a good job breaking the press and being an overall pest on defense.

Boys

Grade 3

Newtown Mavericks 11, Danbury 21: Newtown lost to Danbury on February 17, 21-11. They were led on offense by Luke Hannon, Joe Rios, Kyle Good, and Keenan Murphy. They were led on defense by Josh Taylor, Dillon Robinson, Liam Murphy, Jack Kuligowski, and Jack Lydon.

 Newtown Mavs 20, Cheshire 22: On Sunday the Mavs lost to Cheshire 22-20 in overtime. They were led on offense by Jack Lydon, Liam Murphy, Joe Rios and Luke Hannon. They were led on defense by Dillon Robinson, Keenan Murphy, and Jack Kuligowski.

Grade 6

Newtown Gold 47, Monroe 43: On Saturday at Reed School, the sixth grade boys travel team, Newtown Gold, notched its fifth win of the season against next-door rival Monroe. Newtown’s inside game and slashing back door cuts were a contrast in style to Monroe’s outside shooting threat. Gavin Stubbs led all scorers with 16 points and was strong on the offensive boards. Andrew Lee and Colby Olson each had 4 points, hustling after loose balls and on the glass. Scotty Bauer and Jason Hebner contributed stifling defense and clutch rebounding and had 2 points each.

 Sam Grossano had 8 points, playing a key role deftly distributing the ball after point guard Austin Engler left midway through the game due to injury. Key steals and subsequent layup conversions by Connery Mayer and Mike Liberante moved the momentum to the home squad. All Newtown players scored in this solid team effort, and it looks like Newtown Gold is playing their best ball at the right time, just before Fairfield County Basketball League playoffs begin.

Grade 7

Newtown 76, New Milford 56. Jared Pearson led the scoring with 16 points, Declan Sullivan had 13 points, Matt Elias had 11 points, Matt Gerics and Mason Mellilo each had 9 points. Under the boards Ryan Shaw had 14 rebounds and 8 points.

Newtown Gold 59, Weston 73: Gold found themselves in a 13-point hole after one quarter, and while they did reduce the deficit to six on a couple of occasions, they never could dig themselves all the way out. Matt Maturo had a season high 18 points and pulled down 10 boards. Ethan Carpenter (6 rebounds, 2 assists) and Michael Doyle (3 assists, two 3-pointers) continuously attacked the basket from the point and scored 10 points apiece. Dillon Palumbo chipped in with 7 points and 8 rebounds. Geoff Santore (6 rebounds) and James Frazzetta scored 4 points each.

Newtown Gold 45, Norwalk 69: Norwalk went on a 35-10 run to close out the game. Carpenter had another aggressive game, scoring 13 points. Doyle had 7 points, Maturo 6, and Frazzetta and Santore 5 apiece. Tim VanderHave played aggressive defense and scored 3 points.

Newtown Gold 41 Waterbury 55: Gold could not overcome a 20-point halftime deficit. Doyle (5 rebounds) completed a productive weekend with a game high 10 points. Frazzetta hit a 3-pointer and totaled 8 points. Colin Patrick pulled down 6 rebounds and added 4 points. James Accousti (2 points) and Kieran Lynch(4 points) each had 5 steals.