It comes down to this – March Madness.

And it looks like it will be a wild finish as the In-House Divisions are in the thick of their playoffs and the sixth-grade boys, sixth-grade girls and fifth-grade girls have all secured spots in the Fairfield County Basketball League (FCBL) championship games.

Here are the results:

TRAVEL

Boys 8th

Newtown 68, New Milford 52 – Newtown rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat New Milford. John Grimaldi led the scoring with 18 points while David Bray added 17 and Kurt Nacewicz dropped 12. Defensive play by Cole Depuy, Connor Collier, Jacob Dauz, Chris Marks, and Ian Cooper held New Milford to just four points in the fourth period.

Newtown 56, Southbury 46 – Once again Newtown found themselves on familiar ground at the end of the half, trailing by 10 points. Kurt Nacewicz led the team scoring 14 points, David Bray had 10 and Ricky Gallucci put in eight points as the locals rallied for another win Mark Scheunemann, Ian Cooper Chris Marks, Jacob Dauz, John Grimaldi, and Cole Depuy sparked the defense and held Southbury to only 16 points in the second half.

Trumbull 41, Newtown 37 – A regular season win over Trumbull was of no consequence in the second round of the FCBL Tournament as Newtown fell to Trumbull. John Grimaldi canned 10 points and Connor Collier added seven to lead the locals. At the end of the half Newtown was up by three points, but in the second half turnovers prevented Newtown from finding their rhythm and the ability to rebound offensively and defensively prevented Newtown from advancing.

 

Boys 6th

Newtown 44, Danbury Hat City 31 – Grant Braun scored 12 points and Matt Datin added 10 more to lead Newtown to the win in the FCBL tournament opener. Max Nacewicz provided aggressive play, which helped Newtown storm out ahead in the second half. Lewis Thompson scored four points and grabbed five rebounds while Josh Engler added five points and four rebounds.

Newtown over Fairfield – The Hawks avenged an earlier regular season loss by overcoming Fairfield and advancing to the FCBL championship game. Grant Braun and Matt Datin canned 10 points apiece while Sean Maher had a stellar floor game with four steals, seven rebounds, six assists and seven points. Robbie Carroll, Robert Frangione, Ishan Tatake and Jack Kneisel had solid efforts. The locals will play for the championship on Sunday at Ludlowe Middle School in Fairfield at 1pm.

Girls 6th

Newtown 34, Wilton 15 – Colleen Cunningham scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Newtown past Wilton and helped lead the locals into the FCBL championship game. Maggie Donohue added seven points, 10 steals and 10 rebounds while Alex Grant tossed in 11 points … all in the second half. Sam Whitley scored a bucket and Cady Jackman, Casey Kearns, Jen Smith and Kristen Errico all played solid floor games.

Newtown 31, Redding 30 – Maggie Donohue dropped in a late free throw to lift Newtown to the win. Donohue scored nine points while Colleen Cunningham and Kirsten

Saturday’s game against Redding was a thriller that had the Danbury PAL gym rockin’ as the locals beat Redding 31-30 on a late game free throw by Maggie Donohue. Maggie Donohue led the team in scoring with nine points as Colleen Cunningham and Kristen Errico combined for 10 points and 24 rebounds. Sam Whitley, Alex Grant and Cady Jackman combined for nine points while Casey Rose Kearns and Jen Smith played inspired defense.

Girls 5th

Newtown 16, New Canaan 14 – Abbey Doski’s basket with one minute remaining capped a furious comeback in which Newtown scored the last 10 points of the game to defeat New Canaan in the first round of the FCBL tournament.  Newtown trailed 14-6 midway through the fourth quarter, but Riley Wurtz (four points), Doski, Alyssa Finkenstadt and Jessica Jowdy all scored to secure the victory.  Meanwhile, Kendall Svanda and Christina Caporale helped Newtown stifle New Canaan’s offense in the second half, allowing Newtown to come from behind for the win.

Newtown 22, Darien 19 – Riley Wurtz scored seven points while Abbey Doski and Jessica Lynch added four points each in leading Newtown to a semi-final win in the FCBL tournament. Molly Mahony, Nora Murphy and Meghan Condon provided strong defense and rebounding against a fast-paced Darien offense.  With the win, Newtown secured a spot in the tournament final against New Fairfield on Thursday night.

Boys 5th

Redding 30, Newtown 23 – Taylor Steimle, Dominick Fedak, Josh Barrett, Austin Bonadio and Sean Ross had solid floor games in a loss to Redding.

Newtown 41, New Fairfield 12 – Trey Trudell canned eight points and Kevin LeBlanc played well defensively to lead Newtown to the win. Daniel Gallagher and Michael Greenwood had fine floor games.

IN-HOUSE

 

Junior Boys

Heat 41, Hawkeyes 36 – Steve Osmolik and John Fracker combined for 20 points to lead the Heat to the win. John Aminti grabbed 12 rebounds as Jeff Brown and Chris Winter played well. For the Hawkeyes, Kyle McNamara popped in nine points while Dan Clement played well.

Lakers 54, Bullets 48 – Nick Tarantino and Tyler Edwards combined for 28 points to lift the Lakers over the Bullets. Brian Grimes dished off five assists and Marc Reyes made four steals. For the Bullets, Charlie LoBosco scored 14 points.

Huskies 47, Knicks 40 – Zack Brazo scored 22 points and Joe Cappiello added 16 points with 17 rebounds to lead the Huskies to the win. AJ Ritchie dished off five assists. For the Knicks, Kenton Lord scored 13 points while Michael Whitley-Rodriguez (six assists), Christian Steimle (three steals) and Kyle Droniak (eight rebounds) played well.

Nuggets 56, Eagles 39 – Matt Narel canned 16 points and Harris Gillis grabbed 13 rebounds as the Nuggets beat the Eagles. Evan Triantifilidis had seven assists and Chris Page had six blocks. For the Eagles, Keith McGrath poured in 24 points while Adam Schankman (six assists), Anthony Gruce (five steals) and Chris Murphy (eight rebounds) had strong floor games.

Jaspers 56, Nighthawks 23 – Joey Scarpelli scored 13 points and Shane Wurtz dished off five assists as the Jaspers rolled. For the ‘Hawks, Rob Brautigam canned eight points, Alex Miller popped in four points, and Jamey Tibbets (12 blocks) and Andrew Matsis powered the D.

Rockets 44, Bobcats 38 – Pete Wlasuk scored 14 points and Ryan Goodridge added 11 more to lift the Rockets to the win. Josh Jowdy and Josh Baron played well. For the ‘Cats, Kyle Pickle scored 13 points.

Yellowjackets 43, Celtics 35 – Brian Reszoly scored 11 points and Ed White added eight more to lift the ‘Jackets over the Celtics. Dylan Kelleher, Ryan Schmidt and Michael Poeltl played well. For the Celtics, Joe Selezan scored 11 points while Trevor Todd made six steals. Rockwell Anyoha and Ben Mahony played well.

Intermediate Girls

Suns 37, Shamrocks 20 – Kelly O’Connor scored 11 points and Stef Clavette added 11 to lead the Suns to the win. Marilyn LaCroce was strong off the boards with 10 rebounds while Marissa Cucco and Lainey Audet anchored the D. For the ‘Rocks, Kelly Anne Brophy popped in 12 points as Alyssa Ruddy, Michelle Margait and Amanda Stanton played well.

Da Bears 44, Huskies 25 – Andrea Nazer scored 25 points as Da Bears broke up a one-point game with an explosive fourth quarter. Meredith Bridges and Katie Cummings (eighth rebounds) played well. For the Huskies, Christie Iorfino and Emma Kingsley combined for 13 points as Alexis Black, Nicole Davis and Aria Brownell played well.

Rim Rockers 33, Liberty 18 – Ali Pliszka canned 17 points as the Rockers rolled. Morgan Hopper, Tori Picerno, Sara Benson and Emily Rowe all played well. For the Liberty, Megan Gibbons and Chelsea Gray canned six points apiece while Samantha Steimle dished off four assists and Erin Bell made three steals.

Nighthawks 19, Da Bulls 14 – Jill Jagoe scored six points as the Nighthawks trimmed Da Bulls. Laurel Speed and Jessica Fossum played well. For Da Bulls, Lauren Meyer and Taylor Benson combined for 10 points.

Intermediate Boys

Wildcats 29, Trailblazers 25 – Brandon Body, Patrick Sullivan, Dylan Berger and Colin Morris canned five points apiece to lead the Wildcats to the win. For the Blazers, Will Northrup had eight points while Mike LoBosco had five. Scott Wexler (five assists), Brendan McNamara (five steals) and Logan Mammen (four rebounds) had strong floor games.

Midget Girls

Funky Monkeys versus Yellowjackets – Natalie Galante, Sarah Read, Georgia Contois and Brittany Pearson powered the Monkeys while Jenny Indelicato, Courtney Campbell, Nicole Rothenbacher and Kristen DeGirolamo played well for the ‘Jackets.

Ballhogs versus Devils – Stephanie Roman, Caroline Kingsley, Angela Halili and Lindsey Jagoe all had strong efforts for the ‘Hogs while Meaghan Harkins, Jane Sclafani, Katie McManus and Caitlin Yakush powered the Devils.

Wolverines versus Purple Panthers – Emily Davis and Courtney Escoda played well for the Wolverines while Lauren Sarna and Ryan Cassin led the Panthers.

Fighting Irish versus Huskies – Meghan Logan, Hope McMorran, Brianna Man and Cassie Ekstrom had solid floor games for the Irish as Kelly O’Sullivan, Mariah Joy, Stephanie Zamary and Rachel Maguire played well for the Huskies.

Golden Bears versus Fireballs – Claire Miles, Katherine Clark and Emily Clark all had stellar games for the Bears as Siena Cicarelli, Lindsay Fuori, Melanie Rotarite and Sarah Rose Hasselberger played well for the Fireballs.