Defense, Daubert’s 26 Lead Boys To Win Before Streak Gets Snapped

By Andy Hutchison

The 12-or-so-minute stretch in which Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team limited visiting Pomperaug of Southbury to just one field goal in the February 3 clash provided a large sampling of what has been Newtown’s strong suit this winter: stingy defense.

Newtown defeated the Panthers 55-46, holding an opponent in the 40s for the third time this year to win their third straight game and improve to 6-9 overall.

The Nighthawks then saw their three-game winning streak come to an end in a 52-43 setback to New Fairfield as the host Rebels earned only their third win behind a strong effort and with help from a struggling NHS offense. “Nothing went in for us,” Newtown Coach John Quinn said. “We weren’t making shots. That was the big difference.”

Connor Quinn and Kyle Wilcox both had 11 points and Reid Schmidt dropped in nine in the defeat.

When Newtown is making shots the team is a threat to beat any opponent, which is why the Hawks stand to be a legitimate threat in the South-West Conference playoffs — if they get there, that is. Newtown is battling to get into the postseason, and will need to run the table by defeating its final four opponents, Quinn believes.

The Nighthawks held still unbeaten Immaculate of Danbury to a season-low 56 points, and narrowly missed upsetting those Mustangs in an early-January clash. They limited Kolbe Cathedral, another perfect team, to its third-lowest point total of the campaign in a hard-fought loss last month. There’s no secret formula — just the right ingredients: A mix of talent, athleticism, and the right attitude which, with a man-to-man defensive strategy, equals success in stopping the other team.

 Against Pomperaug, Mike Daubert and Quinn each came up with four of the team’s 15 steals. Taylor Steimle had three of the team’s eight blocked shots, and the Nighthawks frustrated another offense en route to victory.

“They’re quick, they’re strong, and they’re well-coached. When you have those three things your defense is always going to be good,” Pomperaug Coach Dave Yachtis said.

The offense, Coach Quinn pointed out a few games ago, was rounding into form. Against the Panthers, Daubert accounted for nearly half of the scoring with a career-best 26-point effort, made possible by his ability to shoot from the outside and drive to the basket. Daubert sank a trio of 3-pointers and earned several trips to the free throw line where he finished with a solid 7-for-10 performance. “It feels good — as long as we beat them,” Daubert said.

Wilcox continues to play well and use his tall frame near the hoop; he put in 11 points. Steimle added 10 points for the Hawks. Quinn, as always, did a nice job handling the ball, and David Lucia, Schmidt, Mike Davis, and Jake Ball all contributed in the victory.

“To beat any team in our league twice is not easy. These kids are very well-coached and they had nothing to lose, and they played hard. I was real nervous about the game,” Coach Quinn said.

Newtown turned a 13-8 deficit after one quarter into a 19-17 halftime lead. Back-to-back fast-break points by Quinn got NHS to within a point and a Wilcox free throw tied it. Steimle blocked a shot to help keep NHS in a deadlock. Davis took a pass from Wilcox and scored from down low for a 15-13 advantage with 4:30 left in the opening half. Wilcox came up with a steal and Lucia drew a charge, helping to thwart the visiting team’s offense. Pomperaug’s first second-quarter points came at the foul line late in the period and the first basket from the floor wasn’t scored until 30 seconds remained in the half.

The Nighthawks continued to dominate on defense early in the third quarter, and built a seven-point lead, prompting a Pomperaug timeout. Another Steimle basket was followed by Quinn’s steal and coast-to-coast run for two points and a double digit lead of 27-17. A full-court double team by Daubert and Davis led to a Davis steal as the Panthers struggled to set up shots. Steimle’s basket extended the lead to a dozen, prompting another Panthers’ timeout. Consecutive 3-pointers by Wilcox and Steimle, however, gave NHS a comfortable 35-21 lead.

The Panthers ended the third on a 7-0 run to get back to within seven, but Daubert opened the fourth period scoring with a shot from downtown to reclaim Newtown’s 10-point cushion. After the Panthers came up with a steal, Wilcox got the ball back from Newtown with a theft of his own. Every time the Panthers got the lead down to single digits, Newtown answered. Ball’s full-court pressure forced an errant pass and gave Newtown possession. Ball scored following the ensuing inbounds pass to make it 41-30 with five-plus minutes to play.

Up nine points, Daubert made it 44-32 with another 3-pointer. After the Panthers scored, Quinn weaved through the defense for two more points. The Panthers got to within 46-38 and had two possessions with which to try to cut into the deficit, but Newtown’s defense stood tall and the Hawks sank enough free throws in the end to seal the win. Daubert went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the waning stages of the game and the Nighthawks coasted to victory.

“These kids have been defending well all year — and I think we’re getting better at it,” Coach Quinn said. “We guard with the best of them.”

It’s a team effort. “We’re playing eight, nine, ten kids and we don’t drop off defensively,” Coach Quinn said.

“We don’t believe in zone because we have good athletes who have bought into it — and that’s’ why we’re starting to win some games,” the coach added.

The defensive mindset going into games, according to Daubert: “Just pressure them. Hold our guy — don’t let our man score.”

The Hawks will host Joel Barlow of Redding on Friday, February 10, at 7 pm, before closing out the campaign with games against New Milford, Weston, and Stratford.