Quinn’s Buzzer-Beater Sends

Hawk Boys To Dramatic Victory

By Andy Hutchison

It may have been Senior Night, but Newtown High School junior Connor Quinn stole the show. Quinn raced across mid-court and heaved a buzzer-beating 3-point shot from several steps behind the arc to send Newtown to a wild and memorable 51-50 win over Stratford on February 22.

“It was unbelievable,” Newtown Coach John Quinn said of the last-second heroics. “I think it was his first three all year.”

Quinn inbounded the ball to Kyle Wilcox at Newtown’s own baseline, and got it back with the intent to pass to sharp outside shooters Taylor Steimle or Mike Daubert. The play, drawn up by Assistant Coach Brian Cragin, included an out for the point guard to shoot the ball if there was not enough time to make the pass. He released the shot just in time, and banked it off the glass and in — bringing the crowd to its feet.

The win came in the first game after Newtown was eliminated from the South-West Conference Tournament picture by Weston five days earlier.

“It just makes the next week of trying to get ready for one of the best teams in the state a lot of fun,” said Coach Quinn, whose Nighthawks entered into the Class LL state tournament as heavy underdogs with a first-round clash at unbeaten Hartford Public on March 5. Newtown is the tourney’s No. 30 seed and Hartford Public is seeded third.

The Newtown coach said that Hartford Public is a small team but applies a heavy press. “We handle the press well, so we’re hoping to make it competitive,” he said. “We’re going to have our work cut out for us.”

The Nighthawks, regardless of how far they go in the state tourney, will have some fond memories from this campaign, highlighted by the regular season finale against Stratford. Newtown finished the season at 9-11 overall, and Stratford finished at an even 10-10. Quinn scored 16 points, and senior Kyle Wilcox put forth another strong effort with 13 points and a double-digit rebounding performance. Fellow senior captains David Lucia and Steimle both had solid games as well, Coach Quinn noted.