Update: Due to schools being closed, the second-round game between Newtown and Pomperaug has been postponed and rescheduled for Friday, March 9. The game will take place at Pomperaug, beginning at 7 pm.

Newtown High School's boys' basketball team, seeded 21st, defeated host and 12th-seeded Ledyard 66-61 in the Division II state tournament's first round, on March 5.

The Nighthawks went 11-9 during the regular campaign and Ledyard was 13-7.

In the win, the Hawks got 21 points from Robert DiSibio, and 12 and 11, respectively, from Riley Ward and Todd Petersen.

Evan Eggleston dropped in nine, Nick Weiland seven, and Ryan Escoda and Shea Talbot added three each.

Newtown Coach Tim Tallcouch noted that the top seven varsity players contributed in the win.

The Hawks led 15-6 after one quarter, went up 15 points in the second quarter and led 25-18 at halftime. It was 52-34 Newtown after three quarters of play. Newtown fended off Ledyard, which trimmed the deficit to a point.

Tallcouch said scrimmaging two Division I squads, Crosby of Waterbury (13 regular-season wins) and Trumbull (15 wins), during a week-plus layoff from games, benefited his team. The coach added that the Nighthawks held their own in the scrimmages which kept them sharp during the time away from game action.

"We came out hungry and focused. Credit to Ledyard, they made a great run in the fourth quarter to cut it to 62-61 but we stayed the course," Tallcouch said.

Ward and DiSibio went 4-for-4 from the foul line in the final 30 seconds to seal it. The Hawks went 18-for-27 from the charity stripe in the contest.

DiSibio went 3-for-5 from 3-point land, accounting for half of Newtown's scoring from downtown.

Petersen pulled down 11 rebounds, DiSibio had nine rebounds. Weiland, Talbot, and Eggleston had six, four, and three boards respectively. Ward had four assists. Eggleston came away with two of the team's six steals.

The Hawks will visit fifth-seeded Pomperaug of Southbury in the second round, originally scheduled for Thursday, March 8, and moved to Friday, March 9, at 7 pm due to school closings resulting from the storm.

Pomperaug (15-5) is a familiar NHS foe, being a rival South-West Conference team. During the regular slate, Pomperaug won 67-59 in Newtown's gym. Newtown sliced a double-digit deficit down to just two points early in the February 9 matchup against Pomperaug.

"Should be a very good game," Tallcouch anticipates.