Riley Wurtz poured in 23 points on 7-of-8 shooting from beyond the three-point arc to lead the Newtown eighth-grade girls travel basketball team to an easy 50-37 win over Norwalk last week.

In In-House action last weekend, Cassie Ekstrom canned 18 points to lead the Dragons past the Bluefish, 34-19, in Intermediate Girls Division.

Here are the results –

TRAVEL

Boys 8th

New Milford 65, Newtown 56 – Newtown fell in a physical clash to league rival New Milford on the road. Brendan DeAngelis lead Newtown with 18 points. Erik Samuelson added 17 points and eight rebounds as Kyle Wilcox chipped in with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and both had strong games on both ends of the floor.

Danbury 60, Newtown 39 – Danbury avenged its December 2 loss to Newtown by thumping the eighth graders at Newtown High School.  Brendan DeAngelis’ 20 points and Justin Brophy’s inspired play on the defensive end of the floor were not enough to overcome the visiting team’s dominance on the boards.

Girls 8th

Newtown 44, Wilton 27 – Newtown raced out to a 16-7 lead in the first quarter dye to a strong showing from Meghan Condon, who finished with seven points. Newtown sealed the deal with a 16-point third quarter behind a pair of three-pointers from Riley Wurtz and strong outside shooting from Alyssa Finkenstadt. Jessica Jowdy led all scorers with 13 points as Kendall Svanda had five rebounds and two blocked shots.

Newtown 44, Darien 22 – Riley Wurtz and Jessica Jowdy dropped in 10 points apiece while Abbey Doski and Jessica Lynch added eight points each to lead Newtown. Nora Murphy and Stephanie Clavette were solid on D.

Stamford 46, Newtown 38 – After struggling in the first quarter, Newtown battled back in the third behind a fine defensive effort from Carly Iwanicki. Riley Wurtz dropped in six points and helped pull the locals to within one at one point. Arianna Papaj dished off six assists and made two steals.

Newtown 37, Ridgefield 29 – Jessica Jowdy canned 13 points to lead Newtown to the win. Carly Iwanicki and Kendall Svanda played well in the middle while Abbey Doski and Arianna Papaj made some sweet dishes from the point. The team went 6-for-10 from the foul line in the second half to hold off Ridgefield.

Newtown 50, Norwalk 37 – Riley Wurtz was 7-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc and finished with 23 points to lead Newtown to the win. The team executed all of the inbounds plays flawlessly, enabling Wurtz the open looks. Alyssa Finkenstadt and Jessica Jowdy combined for 13 points to support the offense while Abbey Doski and Meghan Condon dished off three assists apiece. Jessica Lynch, Nora Murphy and Stephanie Clavette led a balanced defensive effort.

Girls 7th

Attack 45, Ridgefield 28 – Bridget Power and Claire Miles combined for 18 points while Erin Kenning and Maddy Good combined for another 11 to lead the Attack. Suzy Gissen and Caitlin Yakush were offensive sparks off the bench, combining for another six points. Brittany Tolla and Kristy Papaj had four steals while Meaghan Harkins and Samantha Steimle each had four assists. Stephanie Roman ripped down four boards and caused three turnovers.

Boys 6th

Danbury 44, Newtown 35 – Newtown rallied back from 15 points down to take the lead before ultimately losing to Danbury. Mike Davis led Newtown with nine points while Matt Hoyt chipped in eight and Conner Gallagher had five. Jim Parker had seven rebounds and Jonah Muniz had a solid defensive game.

Newtown 41, Fairfield 23 – Jim Parker and Nick Cagganello each had six points to lead a balance scoring attack in the win for the locals. Matt White played solid defense and Matt Mossbarger and Conner Gallagher both had multiple assists.

Weston 52, Newtown 27 – Newtown couldn’t hold its halftime as Weston ran past the locals in the second half. Bubba LeBlanc led Newtown with eight points and four assists while Mike Davis had five points and Jonah Muniz four. Matt White led Newtown with eight rebounds and Logan Puleri had two blocked shots.

Boys 5th

Newtown 38, New Canaan 15 – It was the defense that carried Newtown to its first win of the year at the Joe Coppo Tournament in Danbury. Leading by three at the half, the defense allowed only four second-half points to put the game away. Troy Frangione, Michael Parker, and Colton Smith highlighted the defensive effort with multiple steals as Michael Cirone and Julian Dunn led the way in rebounding. Dunn and Frangione paced the offense, combining for 19 points.

Newtown 35, Greenwich 31 – Newtown staked itself to a 9-4 lead after the first quarter and played even the rest of the way against a determined Greenwich team. While the defense was not nearly as aggressive as in the previous game, it got stops when it needed, and held on for a four-point win. Jeremy Doski and Colton Smith were again outstanding on defense. Kevin Conte and Connor Roche accounted for all of eight of the Newtown points in the fourth quarter as Julian Dunn led the way with 10 points for the game.

Newtown 35, Wilton 27 – Evenly matched, the locals prevailed in a well-played game. To go along with great team defense from guards Jacob Burden and Michael Parker, unselfish play was the highlight of the game. Logan Walsh collected beautiful assists to Julian Dunn on back-to-back plays late in the second quarter, which sparked the team and turned the momentum in its favor. Good passing became contagious as Kevin Conte and Michael Parker each made tremendous passes leading to easy baskets. Troy Frangione and Dunn led the scoring with 10 points each.

Newtown 48, Darien 36 – Newtown saved its best game of the Joe Coppo Tournament for last and beat a very good Darien team. Colton Smith and Jeremy Doski were outstanding defensively, holding Darien’s top scorer to one field goal in the second half. Michael Cirone, Julian Dunn, and Connor Roche were strong on the offensive glass and were each rewarded for their hard work with easy put backs. Logan Walsh and Jacob Burden were recipients of nice passes and knocked down big shots in the second half. Colton Smith led the offense with 12 points, followed by Troy Frangione and Julian Dunn with nine each.

Newtown 46, New Haven 35 – Newtown staked itself to a 13-4 first quarter lead and held on to defeat a good New Haven club in regular-season action. While the lead was cut to five on numerous occasions, the locals never gave the lead back and eventually put the game away in the final minutes. Good defense, rebounding, passing and poise displayed by the boys carried them through a physical test as they consistently limited new haven to one shot and scored against New Haven’s pressure defense with unselfish play. Jeremy Doski, Kevin Conte, Connor Roche and Julian Dunn led the team effort. Dunn had 11 points followed by Troy Frangione with 10.

IN-HOUSE

Junior Boys

Pride 47, Wildcats 44 – Colin Cooper canned 19 points and Chad Magoulas added 11 more to lead the Pride to the win. JP Kitzmiller dished off seven assists while Robbie Hughes made six steals and Tom Bauer grabbed six rebounds. For the ‘Cats, Matthew Rahtelli tossed in 13 points as Francis Afriyie added eight more. Sam Langdon and Colton Sposta played well.

Vipers 41, Nuggets 24 – Brandon Cooper and Jeff Grasso combined for 26 points to lead the Vipers to the win. Dan Poeltl, Luke Sherwood and Richard Sandler played well. For the Nuggets, Alex Arend tossed in eight points.

Tar Heels 35, Huskies 29 – Pat Riccardi scored 10 points as Evan Noonan, Don Morrissey and Peter Ovendorf added six points apiece to lead the Tar Heels to the win. For the Huskies, Reid Schmidt poured in 15 points and Dillon Kelley grabbed five rebounds.

Nighthawks 43, Nets 42 (OT) – Mike Scharfenberg poured in 21 points as the Nighthawks slipped past the Nets in overtime. Brandon Marks, Colin Morris, Pat Sullivan and Cameron McCleary (6 points) played well. For the Nets, Puleri scored 14 points while Austin Bonadio dished off 10 assists as the Nets rallied back from a 10-point deficit to force OT. Madden dragged down 10 rebounds.

Avalanche 50, Regulators 32 – Sean Burson dropped in 23 points and Eric Sutton scored eight points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Avalanche to the win. Colin Hall scored eight points while Ben Stoller dished off two assists and made four steals. For the Regulators, Jack Champagne scored six points and Brandon Merrick dished off five assists.

Sonics 37, Bears 25 – Sean Ross canned 10 points to lift the Sonics to the win. Kevin Shpunt, Kevin Dennis and Myles LoBuglio all played well. For the Bears, Kevin Phillips popped in six points while Trevor Carey (5 assists), Collin Moller (4 steals) and Kyle Buckley (6 rebounds) played well.

Maulers 38, Regulators 24 – Josh Villa tossed in 13 points and Justin DeVellis added 11 more to lead the Maulers to the win. Christian Mather added eight assists while PJ Hickey grabbed six rebounds and Rob Uhde blocked seven shots. For the Regulators, Dean Demers dropped in five points while Greg Frattarolli pulled down 10 rebounds. Tyler Gibney and James Mooney played well.

Gunners 30, Statesmen 30 – Sayegh scored nine points and Volkers dragged down eight rebounds to lead the Gunners. Dunnigan and Hutchison played well. For the Statesmen, Peter Kearns canned 13 points as Chris Erikson, Cole Baldino and Brian Kruger had solid performances.

 

Standings: Sonics 2-0-0, Nighthawks 2-0-0, Avalanche 2-0-0, Maulers 2-0-0, Bears 1-1-0, Nuggets 1-1-0, Vipers 1-1-0, Tar Heels 1-1-0, Pride 1-1-0, Regulators 1-2-0, Huskies 1-2-0, Statesmen 0-1-1, Gunners 0-1-1, Nets 0-2-0, Wildcats 0-2-0.

Junior Girls

Da Bears 35, Huskies 16 – Molly Mahony scored 17 points and Elyn Gordon dragged down seven rebounds to lead Da Bears. For the Huskies, Kristi Engler canned eight points while Jillian Moller played well on defense.

Rebels 38, Hawks 19 – Kiersten Lynch scored 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Rebels past the Hawks. Caitlin Dowling dished off six assists and Sara Hasselberger made four steals. For the Hawks, Lydia Beiter scored eight points while Oliva Phenix and Keri Chernoff played well.

Suns 48, Liberty 40 – Tressa Scott poured in 18 points and Jessica Haitz added 14 more to lead the Suns to the win. Courtney Tenney grabbed eight rebounds and Allison Monaco played well on D. For the Liberty, Courtney Escoda canned 16 points.

Standings: Da Bears 2-0, Rebels 2-0, Knicks 1-0, Suns 1-1, Hawks 1-1, Mercury 0-1, Liberty 0-2, Huskies 0-2.

Intermediate Boys (6th)

Free Agents 38, Beasts 25 – Connor Noonan and Chase Wurtz led the Free Agents with 10 points each. Colin Post was a defensive standout with 10 blocked shots as Noonan and Justin Adsitt controlled the boards with nine rebounds each. Austin Babyak, Matt Barra and Nick Marcinek sparked the D. Nick Swenson led the Beasts with seven points while Jonathan Schwartz led with assists and stingy defense. Nathan Kalra and Brian Arnold had strong floor games.

Free Agents 33, Runnin’ Rebels 17 – Chase Wurtz pumped in nine points and Connor Noonan and Justin Adsitt chipped in six apiece to lead the Free Agents. Adsitt, Jeff Peterson and Austin Babyak had strong games in the paint, while Noonan and Colin Post were strong on defense. Grant Ricketts led the Runnin’ Rebels with seven points, while Nicholas Klein, Grant Larnerd and Garrison Buzzanca had strong floor games.

Nighthawks 31, Hawks 28 – Drew Tarantino (8 points) and Jimmy Leidlein (7 points) led the Nighthawks past the Hawks in a closely fought battle. Nate Steinebrey was tough on defense with five steals while Dan Spillane pulled down 10 rebounds. The Hawks were led by Patrick Rowley and Matt Lindell with eight points apiece. Alex Romeo contributed with three assists while Virgil Procaccini pulled down nine rebounds. Doug Miller and Andrew Derrickson played exceptionally well.

Suns 34, Mavericks 17 – Tim Kelly and Shay DeMarche combined for 14 points to lead the Suns to the win. Greg LaDestro and Tom Floros played well. For the Mavs, Robert Linden tossed in six points and Jack Benedict pulled down eight rebounds. Nick Strokis and Marc Hernandez played well.

Huskies 38, Celtics 26 – Patrick Afriyie canned 14 points and Tommy Gleason dropped in 12 points and dished off 10 assists to lead the Huskies to the win. For the Celtics, Mitchell Stewart dropped in six points as Brendan Peterson grabbed seven rebounds, Matt Wood dished off four assists and Ryan Errico made three steals.

Standings: Huskies 3-0, Nighthawks 2-0, Free Agents 2-1, Celtics 1-1, Hawks 1-1, Suns 1-1, Mavericks 0-2, Beasts 0-2, Runnin’ Rebels 0-2.

Intermediate Boys (5th)

Sonic Pumpkins 33, Scorpions 15 – Stephen Grasso scored 12 points as Jonathan Sherman, Shane Quimby and Chris Hartley played well to lead the Pumpkins to the win. For the Scorpions, Colton Moroney and Nick Cirone tossed in five points apiece while Brian Raab and David Corsi played well.

Wildcats 36, Rockets 36 (OT) – Deegan Beuchemin and Robby Schreiber combined for 13 points to lead the Wildcats in an overtime draw. Peter Manfredonia grabbed nine rebounds while Patrick Berger dished off five assists as the ‘Cats overcame a 14-point halftime deficit. For the Rockets, Bobby Archiere canned 18 points – including four in the extra session – and Wiley Zahansky added eight more. Kausta Mitra led the defense.

Bulldogs 28, Celtics 23 – Max Rucinski scored 11 points and Jason Ferrari dragged down 10 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Kyle McGrath dished off three assists and Joey Carrino made four steals. For the Celtics, Will Swain canned 10 points as Connor Ryan, Christian Hoffman and CJ Dunn played well.

Heat 20, Knicks 19 – Huegi, Djonne, Phillips and Godin all played well to lift the Heat to the win. For the Knicks, Aidan Petershack scored seven points while Nate Dowd, Tommy Shaker and Sean McCafferty all had solid games.

Twisters 27, Scorpions 6 – Jaret DeVellis canned 10 points and Alex Klang pulled down six rebounds to lead the Twisters. Kevin Ovendorf added six points and Andrew Cragin chipped in with five. For the Scorpions, Colton Moroney grabbed 10 rebounds as Nick Cirone, David Corsi and Trevor Lopez played well

 

Standings: Sonic Pumpkins 2-0-0, Twisters 2-0-0, Wildcats 1-0-1, Rockets 1-1-1, Celtics 1-1-0, Bulldogs 1-1-0, Heat 1-1-0, Knicks 0-2-0, Scorpions 0-3-0.

Intermediate Girls

Dragons 34, Bluefish 19 – Cassie Ekstrom poured in 18 points and Bethany Dubois pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the Dragons. Emily Pieretti canned eight points. For the ‘Fish, Lindsey Jagoe and Emily Maher tossed in six points apiece as Emily Davis, Micaela Nowacki and Brittany Gonzalez (7 rebounds) played well.

Court Jesters 20, Nighthawks 4 – Kelly O’Connell canned 10 points as the Court Jesters rolled. Hannah Booth and Mary Kate  Halmose played well. For the ‘Hawks, Valentina Pena and Kate Butera each had a bucket as Marissa Leone and Shaina Stamp played well.

Ghostbusters 33, Bulldogs 32 – Anna Northrop popped in 15 points and lifted the Ghostbusters past the Bulldogs with a key free throw in the final 10 seconds. Sarah Craig and Amanda Martinez also exhibited their offensive strengths in assisting and scoring, while Aileen Decker and Abby Callery executed sharp defense with several rebounds and blocks.. For the ‘Dogs, Megan Logan poured in 26 points as Emma Lloyd had a strong game.

Wolves 22, Ghostbusters 10 – Siena Cicarelli canned 12 points to lead the Wolves to the win. Jenna Hansen led the defense as Anita Luxraranayagam supported the offense and Mary Beth Semosky displayed nice hustle. The Ghostbusters played tough as Hayley Dunn and Paige Fedorchek performed resiliently on offense with their assisting and scoring skills, while Nokomis Leaman-Logsdon and Dale Shearin displayed compelling defensive rebounding and blocking skills.

Standings: Dragons 2-0, Wolves 2-0, Ghostbusters 2-1, Bluefish 1-1, Court Jesters 1-1, Nighthawks 0-2, Bulldogs 0-3.

Bantam Girls

Devils 24, Wildcats 10 – Casey Harkins and Kelly Merrick combined for 18 points to lead the Devils. Amanda Albanesi was ferocious on defense and Hannah Bellagamba ripped down four rebounds. For the ‘Cats, Aimee Talbot had six points and Rachel Williams had three assists. Emma Horne was tough on defense and CeeCee DelRossie had two rebounds.

Eagles 20, Tigers 20 – Lauren Wilcox and Katie Laaksonen were the high scorers as the Eagles drew even with the Tigers. Christina DeBartolemo was strong on defense and Joanna Vodola had three rebounds. For the Tigers, Haley Ryan dished out four assists as Alana Murray, Lindsay Hoyt and Molly Begg (4 rebounds) played well.

No Names 24, Hawks 12 – Maddy Strokis was lead scorer with three assists from Nicole Russo to power the No Names Courtney Demeglio was strong on defense while Kayla Disibio led all rebounders. For the Hawks, Caitlyn Linden was high scorer with many assists from Michaela Jackman. Alexis Tucker was a force on defense.

Standings: Devils 1-0-0, No Names 1-0-0, Eagles 0-0-1, Tigers 0-0-1, Wildcats 0-1-0, Hawks 0-1-0.

Bantam Boys

Big Red Machine 13, Orangemen 10 – BRM was led offensively by Tim Vanderhave and Josh Houle. Geoff Santore and Zachary Laros led the team defensively. The Orangemen were led offensively by Matt Elias and Nick Samuelson. Dillon Palumbo and Adam Robertson led the team defensively.

Eagles 21, Nighthawks 6 – Michael Doyle and Declan Sullivan powered the Eagles as Nick Randle and Jeremy Salaris led the team defensively. The Nighthawks had fine games from Ethan Carpenter, Austin LeBlanc, Tim Pritchett and Chris Buckley.

Team (#5) 26, Huskies 8 – Gordon Walsh and Jack Procaccini led the Team #5 offense in its win. Spencer Johnson and Jake Lapp had nice defensive performances. For the Huskies, Jamie Cochrane and Bryce Mather led the offense as Matt Stewart and Nate Wutske led D.

Warriors 20, Blue Devils 19 – Matt Gerics, Joe Duero, John DelRossi and James Accousti played well to lead the Warriors to the win. Matt Maturo and Devin Luzetti led the Devils on offense as Kiernan Lynch and Kyle Keeping led the team on D.

Lightning 15, Celtics 9 –  Jared Pearson and Nick Genovese powered the Lightning offense in the win. James Frazzetta and Austin Carfi anchored the D. The Celtics were led on offense by Tony Leonardi and Thomas Gavel as Alex Gerbo and Danny McCarthy played well on the defensive side of the ball.

Standings: Big Red Machine 1-0, Eagles 1-0, Team #5 1-0, Warriors 1-0, Lightning 1-0, Orangemen 0-1, Nighthawks 0-1, Huskies 0-1, Blue Devils 0-1, Celtics 0-1.

Midget Girls

Blue Devils versus Orange Crush – Isabel Pryor, Olivia Bellagamba, Nicki Zaccaro and Haley Harkins led the Devils while Jackie Gouveia, Lauren Carrino, Tegan Doherty and Bridget Walsh powered the Crush.

Tigers versus Wildcats – Hailey Conrad, Emily Neave, Kendra Dunnigan and Julia Haskins played well for the Tigers as Jillian Pieretti, Casey Mockell, Megan Goyda and Kamden Moronni had nice games for the ‘Cats.

Purple Parrots versus Red Devils – Simone Afriyie, Sarah Houle, Claire Swanson and Tess Leon-Gambetta had strong performances for the Parrots as Olyvia Shaw, Emily Dirga, Hannah Luby and Vida Arroyo played well for the Devils.

Huskies versus Team Yellow – Lindsey Tielen, Clair Beiter, Alexi Leidlein and Rachel Sherwood powered the Huskies while Meghan Doyle, Jessica Maturo, Megan Nahmias and Jordan Williams anchored the Yellow.