By Steve Bigham

MONROE – Over the years, the Newtown High School boys’ basketball team has been blown out of more than its share of first-round CIAC state tournament games. And none of them were easy to swallow.

But sometimes the close losses are harder to take, and Tuesday’s 60-58 loss at Masuk was no exception. Newtown’s rather strange season came to an abrupt end when its last-ditch effort to tie the game came up way short. Twelfth-seeded Masuk beat the 21st-seed locals thanks to a 16-2 first-quarter run and a pair of 8-0 runs in Class LL action.

The Nighthawks lost their first three games of the season and closed the season the same way. In between, they went 11-5, including one stretch that saw them win eight of nine games to qualify for the South West Conference (SWC) tournament as the eighth seed. All told, however, the talented group finished a mediocre 11-11.

Second-year Coach John Quinn called this week’s game a “microcosm” of the whole season.

“It was very, very disappointing the whole night. It was typical of each and every game that we were in this season. For a variety of reasons – many self-inflicted – we were unable to pull it out,” Quinn said. “We missed some big shots and we missed some foul shots. That was the difference.”

The Newtown locker room was somber place following this week’s game as players were emotionally drained. However, as Quinn pointed out, there was no use searching for answers. His kids played hard, but due to a bad bounce here and there, they will have to settle for any early exit.

“There were a lot of `what ifs’ this year. We were in every single game we played,” the coach said. “I feel so bad for these kids. To have it end like that, which is the way the season seemed to go, was very frustrating.”

A Dogfight in Monroe

Newtown and Masuk engaged in a dogfight Tuesday as both SWC teams battled to keep their seasons alive. Masuk forward Brian Kiraly’s one-handed runner with 11 seconds remaining proved to be the game winner. After calling timeout, Newtown had 4.2 seconds to keep its season alive, but whatever play was set up never worked, and Jason Godoy could do little more than heave a prayer at the basket.

Rich Engel’s two foul shots with 31.2 seconds left had tied the game, but 15-7 Masuk set up its final shot by spreading the floor. It opened the door for Kiraly who made it stick.

Newtown jumped out to an 11-2 midway through the fourth quarter on Jason Godoy’s three-pointer. In response, the Panthers mounted a head-spinning 16-2 run that included two three-pointers each from Joe Caruso and Mike Malantra. Masuk shot ahead 18-16 before Courtney Steele broke loose for a dunk from the right side to stop the bleeding. It was Steele’s first dunk of his career and came in a game where he scored 19 points. The 6-5 senior was dominant inside, especially when his teammates got him the ball. However, the well went dry late even after Masuk’s 6-3 center, Don Hutchinson, fouled out midway through the fourth quarter.

Rich Engel’s bucket and two free throws from John Wesley gave Newtown a 22-20 lead early in the second quarter, before Masuk went on an 8-0 run – keyed by double technical fouls on Engel and Quinn. Sophomore Josh Dittmar stopped the run with a tip in to cut the lead to 28-24. Then, after Masuk took a 36-29 advantage, Engel scored inside and John Fiscella buried a three-pointer to make a 36-34 at halftime.

Things looked to go Newtown’s way early in the third quarter as Steele buried a three-pointer then scored inside to give Newtown a 41-39 lead. A technical foul on a Masuk player gave Newtown the momentum it needed. Andrew Smith’s bucket gave Newtown a 45-42 lead. However, Masuk responded with another 8-0 run before Engel’s basket just before the third-quarter buzzer cut Masuk’s lead to 50-47.

Engel scored a season-high 16 points in what a lot of people described as a very gutsy performance by kid with the heart of a lion.

“I don’t think there are too many athletes that will come along with the heart, character and resolve of a kid like that,” Quinn said.

Fiscella’s three-pointer a 6:03 of the fourth tied the game, 50-50, but the Panthers responded with their seventh three-pointer of the game to give it a lead it would never relinquish. Steele hit two foul shots to cut the deficit to one, but Caruso responded with a pair of foul shots. Bret McEvoy then fed a wide-open Godoy to make it 55-54. Seconds later, Godoy found himself wide open on a break, but the long pass slipped through his fingers.

Masuk made one of two free throws to up the lead to 56-54 before Fiscella responded by making two of four to tie the score at 1:55. The Panthers then melted the clock before point guard John Galvin slipped inside for the score with 40 seconds remaining. Engel calmly hit two free throws to tie it, but Kiraly sent the Masuk crowd into a frenzy with his running one hander.

  Newtown beat Masuk, 68-56, in the two teams only other meeting January 21.

NOTE: Courtney Steele finished with 332 points on the season, giving him 859 for his career – good for fifth place on the all-time scoring chart. Steve Kordish (1,281), Andrew Gellert (1,147), Randy Gunther (1,137) and Greg Gallagher (895) are in the top four positions . . . John Fiscella finishes with 361 points for the season, giving him 548 career points and putting him in the top 20 all-time.

 

NEWTOWN 18   16   13   11   - 58

MASUK     20   16   14   10   - 60

NEWTOWN (58): Courtney Steele 7 4-7 19, Bret McEvoy 0 0-0 0, Rich Engel 6 4-4 16, John Fiscella 2 4-8 10, Jason Godoy 2 2-2 7, Andrew Smith 1 0-0 2, Josh Dittmar 1 0-0 2, John Wesley 0 2-2 2. Totals: 19 16-23 58.

MASUK (60): Jeff Hourigan 1 1-2 3, Earl Robinson 0 0-0 0, John Galvin 1 4-4 6, Brian Kiraly 5 1-5 13, Don Hutchinson 3 3-3 9, Brady Simpson 1 0-0 2, Joe Caruso 6 4-7 19, Scott Krasko 1 0-0 2, Mike Malandra 2 0-0 6. Totals: 20 13-21 60.

Three-pointers: Fiscella (N) 2, Godoy (N), Steele (N), Caruso (M) 3, Kiraly (M) 2, Malandra (M) 2.