Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team may have come up short, 70-64 in overtime, in a December 23 clash with visiting Stamford. But the team members may look back at this setback as a turning point.

After all, the Nighthawks – who have a completely different starting lineup than they put on the court last winter – got a taste of down-to-the-wire (and then some) nail-biting action.

“A game like this can only make us better, and it will make us better,” said Newtown Coach Tim Tallcouch, whose Nighthawks and Stamford Black Knights went back and forth to the tune of ten ties and 13 lead changes before Stamford held on in OT.

Newtown’s Nick Weiland had a chance, albeit a tough one, to win the game as time expired at the end of regulation, but couldn’t convert a runner in the lane with defenders on him.

The game was even at 59 apiece going into the four-minute extra stanza, and the Black Knights scored the first five points and didn’t relinquish the lead. Newtown’s Joe Duero sank a 3-pointer to get the Hawks to within 64-62, and Tom Cotton sank a free throw to answer a Stamford foul shot, leaving the score 65-63 Knights with 1:24 to play.

Dillon Palumbo stole the ball for Newtown, got fouled on his way to the basket, and hit one shot, making the score 65-64 with 36 ticks left on the scoreboard clock. Stamford closed out the win with five foul shots in the waning seconds, and Jay Devito had a big steal to help the Knights maintain the lead.

Stamford overcame a handful of small deficits to tie or take the lead in the final minutes of regulation. With the game even at 51 apiece midway through the fourth quarter, Palumbo’s baseline jumper gave the Hawks a 53-51 lead. Weiland nailed an outside shot for a 55-53 edge with 2:14 left. Just ten seconds after a Stamford 3-pointer gave the Knights a 56-55 lead, Palumbo hit a trey of his own for a 58-56 Newtown advantage.

After Stamford inched a point closer with a free throw, Weiland hit a clutch front end one and one foul shot to give Newtown a 59-57 lead with 1:03 left in regulation, but Stamford’s Nico Lavens made an outside jumper to tie the game with 42 seconds to go.

Palumbo scored 16 points, Nevin Zink had 15, Sam Duffy dropped in 13, Cotton scored eight, and Duero and Weiland both added six for Newtown.

The Nighthawks limited Devito to 13 and fellow scoring threaYan Carlos Marte to three points, but Nico Lavens had a game-high 34 points.

Both teams got to the foul line frequently, with the Hawks hitting 14 of 25 freebees, and Stamford hit 21 of 38 free throws.

“The kids showed up today – gave me a phenomenal effort from A to Z,” Tallcouch said. “Everybody contributed and we’ll take this as a growing experience and go from there.

“I know a loss stinks but we feel a lot better after this one,” said Tallcouch, whose team fell 66-39 to Fairfield Ludlowe in the opener two days earlier. “It’s baptism under fire for us.”