The Newtown eighth-grade boys travel basketball team – which had already defeated East Haven by nine points – nearly advanced to the championship round of the Monroe Tournament this past weekend, but was edged out by a strong Westport club, 56-54.

In the win over East Haven, Kurt Nacewicz canned 19 points and John Grimaldi added 12. Ian Cooper, Chris Marks, Jacob Dauz, Ricky Gallucci, David Bray, Connor Collier and Cole Depuy put forth a strong team effort.

In the loss to Westport, Nacewicz poured in 23 points as Grimaldi contributed 14 and David Bray added 10. Newtown played a near perfect second half and was worthy of a win, but fell short due to the perimeter shooting of Westport.

Marks, Cooper, Dauz, Gallucci, Collier, Depuy, and Mark Scheunemann all played well on defense.

Meanwhile, the Newtown seventh-grade girls travel basketball team earned a third-place finish at the Keegan Tournament in Monroe with a 43-36 win over Weston to conclude the 2004-05 season.

In the game, Sara Kelley canned 14 points (going 6-of-8 from the free throw line) and Jennifer Daily added 14 points. Kaitlin Marsden, Kate Bowen and Ally Modzelewski combined for 18 points while Brittany Wiberg chipped in a basket to complete the scoring for Newtown.

Nicole Elias and Carolyn Fagan were strong off the boards while Meghan Bridges and Stephanie Suhoza  played well defensively for the seventh-graders