Nighthawk Boys Shock Bunnell In Final Seconds, Keep Winning

By Andy Hutchison

Trailing visiting Bunnell of Stratford by one point with the final seconds ticking away on the scoreboard clock, Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team pulled out a dramatic win at home on January 20. Josh Engler rebounded a shot on the offensive end of the floor and hit a runner from the right side of the key, despite being fouled, and competed a 3-point play with just 5.7 seconds left for 54-52 win.

Bunnell missed on a last-second 3-point attempt and follow-up shot and Newtown celebrated a thrilling win. The Nighthawks improved to 4-5 overall and the Bulldogs fell to 4-6.

“Josh put us on his back the last three minutes,” Newtown Coach John Quinn said of his captain’s play down the stretch. “I wasn’t going to call a timeout because I just trust that kid and I knew something was going to happen.”

The Nighthawks had established an eight-point lead by the late stages of the second quarter, only to see the Bulldogs rally for a lead throughout most of the second half. Bunnell led 43-34 with 7:13 to play in the game when Newtown started to claw back.

“I just told the kids — this was the type of game that they could have said, ‘Man, it’s just not going to happen. We had a lead, we weren’t making shots,’” said Quinn, adding that Bunnell was getting to the free throw line more as well. The coach was proud of his team for pulling out the win.

Down 44-42, Newtown went ahead by a point on Kyle Wilcox’s 3-pointer with 3:03 to play. The teams traded baskets and free throws, leaving the game tied at 47 when Wilcox finished off a fast-break, scoring off a feed from Engler for a two-point edge with just over two minutes remaining. Connor Quinn set up Sean Maher for a 51-47 NHS lead with 1:13 to play. That basket was answered moments later on Bunnell’s Yashua Dunmore’s 3-pointer to snip the lead to just a point. Dunmore hit one of two free throws to deadlock the score at 51 apiece with 48 seconds left. Teammate Tim White sank one of two from the line for a 52-51 Bunnell lead with 17.4 seconds left, setting the stage for Engler’s winner.

“I think it says a lot about our team — the way we were able to come back in the fourth quarter,” Maher said.

The Nighthawks compiled 22 fourth-quarter points and were led in the game by Engler’s 23, Wilcox’s 12, and Josh Barrett’s six.

Some of the players who haven’t had a whole lot of varsity playing experience, played key roles on the win. Coach Quinn was quick to point to the play of Taylor Steimle. “He came in, he defended, he got some rebounds — and made some big plays, so that was huge. Connor played very well, taking care of the ball, and gave us some big assists. Reid [Schmidt] came in and gave us some good minutes. I’m real happy with what the young kids are doing,” the coach said.

Quinn has also been pleased with the improvement and play of Barrett, and added that Connor Quinn and RJ Roman bring a strong defensive presence off the bench.

The Hawks are getting into the heart of their South-West Conference schedule as they try to compete for both conference and state tournament berths.

“It was big,” Engler said of the win. “This is definitely the part of the schedule where we need to come away with wins.”

Newtown did just that in its next game, coming away with a 65-48 win over Immaculate of Danbury on January 24. Newtown trailed at the half, but rallied behind a strong fourth quarter, during which the Nighthawks outscored Immaculate 24-7. Wilcox led the way with 22 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, Engler had 13 points, Maher scored 10, Matt Datin added nine and grabbed seven rebounds, and Josh Barrett added seven points.

“When we play well as a team and get the ball up the floor we’re tough to beat,” said Wilcox, alluding to the importance of the Hawks scoring in transition.

“When we’re running the fast break, the team’s we’re playing are on their heels,” Quinn concurred. “We’re better when we run.”

The Nighthawks faced a tough eight-win Bethel team on January 25, and pulled out a hard-fought 56-51 victory to get over the .500 mark at 6-5 overall. Newtown held Bethel to 19 first-half points. Engler had 25 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Wilcox contributed 16 points and six rebounds, Barrett added seven points and five assists, and Datin continued to control the paint with eight more rebounds.

The Hawks will go for their fourth win in a row when they visit nonconference foe Crosby of Waterbury on Friday, January 28, at 7 pm. It won’t be an easy test. “They’re clearly one of the top teams in the state,” said Quinn, adding that Crosby has 11 wins and, routinely, beats teams by 20-plus points. “We’ll go and play hard, and see what happens.”

NHS returns home and to South-West Conference play when Kolbe Cathedral of Bridgeport (7-4 heading into Friday’s action) visits for a 7 pm tip-off — in what should be another tough game — on February 1. It’s the first meeting between the SWC rivals since Newtown knocked off Kolbe in last year’s conference tournament en route to the championship game.

The school’s boys’ and girls’ basketball teams, along with the cheerleaders, are again teaming up with the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials and the American Cancer Society during the “Coaches vs. Cancer” crusade. The NHS cheerleaders will use their pink megaphones to collect money in support of this cause during the girls’ game against Lauralton Hall on Friday, January 28 and during the February 1 boys’ game against Kolbe.