WESTPORT — Despite falling to tough FCIAC foes Wilton and Staples of Westport in its first two games, the Newtown High School boys’ basketball team has shown some good signs of potential on-court success to come.

Against visiting Wilton on December 16, the Nighthawks fell behind by 14 points, 35-21, at halftime before rallying to tie the score in third. The Warriors pulled away in the fourth quarter and prevailed 75-61 despite 28 points from Newtown’s Makai Coleman and 16 from Declan Regan, who had a double-double with a baker’s dozen rebounds.

In a December 18 trip to Westport, the Nighthawks fell behind 15-0 and 26-5 after one quarter of play before going back-and-fourth with the Wreckers, pulling to within 13, and ultimately falling 73-57.

Things certainly looked bleak early as the Wreckers drained four opening-stanza 3-pointers on their way to 13 from downtown overall in the contest. The Hawks began to chip away. They whittled what became a 23-point Staples lead down to 14 when Andrew Grenier took a “touchdown” pass from Coleman and scored in close to make it 32-18 with 3:56 to play in the second quarter.

Timeout Wreckers. Staples proceeded to can consecutive 3-pointers to reclaim the momentum. It was 38-23 at the half.

The lead grew to 22 on a 7-0 Wrecker start to the half sparked by, what else, a Staples shot from beyond the arc to begin the second half. Coleman’s basket and foul shot for a 3-point play the old fashioned way capped a mini NHS run that got the lead down to 16. Staples responded with yet another 3-pointer. Newtown continued to scratch and claw and got within 55-42 when Coleman dropped a pass down low for Regan to finish with 1:45 left in the third. The Wreckers again countered with a 3-pointer. It was 60-44 through three quarters and Newtown never really threatened to get back in it during the fourth despite continuing to battle.

“The group definitely exhibited toughness. It would have been easy for them to pack it up and just accept it, but they fought,” Newtown Coach Matt Murphy said. “The key is we need to get off to a better start.”

Sam Clachko (28 points) drained six and Adam Udell (24 points) four 3-pointers for the Wreckers.

Newtown was paced by Coleman with 19 and Regan with 15 points to go along with seven rebounds. Grenier dropped in nine, and Ryan Zaniewski and Asher Williams both contributed five. Wes Keayes had two and Teddy Moxham tacked on a point to round off the scoring.

Murphy noted that he is hopeful these tough out-of-conference games, including a December 21 clash with Torrington the Hawks won 67-66, will help prepare the Hawks for South-West Conference play.

“I’m disappointed in the outcome of the first two games but not discouraged,” said Murphy, noting that the players have had limited time to adjust to a new system and new coaching staff. “There’s a lot of room for improvement, a lot of room for growth.”

On top of that, there is more to the game than the outcome.

“Some things are more important than wins and losses — character, fighting through adversity, and coming together as a team,” Murphy noted.

The Hawks certainly showed plenty of character and fight as they battled back to make a game of it after early deficits in each of the first two contests. Newtown then erased a 30-16 first-quarter deficit against Torrington (the win will be highlighted in the December 29 print edition of The Bee and check back for more coverage online).

They will have more tough early-season nonconference tests with Darien visiting Friday, December 29 at 1 pm and a road trip to Northwestern the next day for a 3 o’clock tipoff. Newtown returns home for its first SWC matchup Thursday, January 4, when Bethel comes to town for a 7 pm game.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.