NHS Boys Get Much-Needed Win Over NFA, Lose Heartbreaker To ND

By Andy Hutchison

Competing day in and day out, but struggling to find ways to win, Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team finally put the skids on a six-game drought. The Nighthawks did so with 61-50 victory over visiting Norwich Free Academy on January 18.

The Nighthawks built a 17-point lead, 42-25 in the third quarter, before fending off NFA to improve to 3-7, as NFA fell to 7-4.

NFA pulled to within 52-49 with 3:08 to play before the Hawks closed out the game on a 9-1 run. Mike Daubert scored when he sank a runner for a 54-49 lead. Following an NFA free throw, Daubert set up Mike Davis down low for a six-point advantage with 1:24 to play. Connor Quinn added a free throw and Taylor Steimle sank two foul shots to pad the lead, and a Quinn steal and layup capped the scoring.

The Nighthawks had three scorers in double digits. Kyle Wilcox led the way with 14 points, Steimle dropped in 14, and Quinn scored 11. Davis had eight and Daubert added six. David Lucia and Wilcox both had seven rebounds, and Daubert and Steimle each handed out five assists.

“This is so big for these kids. I never wanted a win more for a bunch of kids in my 15 years here, after what we’ve been through. These kids are playing so hard,” John Quinn said. “We’ve been in every game except the Bethel game.”

The Nighthawks have lost five of their seven by single digits, and every game was reasonably close, with exception of a January 13 loss to Bethel. Then came a talk between the coaches and players. “We had a meeting of the minds and the kids just bought into it,” Coach Quinn said. “It’s all about us — we need to support one another. When there’s adversity, and there’s a couple missed shots — missed baskets — that’s when we need to come together and play more as a team. And we did tonight. They ran the offense, they were disciplined on offense, and they stayed with the defense and we made some stops — and it worked. The kids have got a great attitude and I’m very happy for them.”

The Nighthawks used good ball movement to take advantage of the best shot selections, and a strong man-to-man defense to turn defensive stands into fast-break points and end NFA’s four-game winning streak.

“I think we played as a team. We ran our stuff, we made the extra pass — didn’t rely on one person too much,” Steimle said.

Connor Quinn said keys to the win included “defense, transition,” adding “We were really composed on offense.”

The Nighthawks pushed unbeaten Immaculate of Danbury to the wire before falling earlier this season. They battled with unbeaten Kolbe Cathedral, a top-ten Connecticut team, in Bridgeport before falling 53-42 on January 20. Newtown held Kolbe to its fourth-lowest point total of the campaign. Quinn scored 11, and Mike Davis and Steimle both had seven.

Newtown took on 7-4 Notre Dame-Fairfield on Tuesday in a rematch of the South-West Conference Tip Off Tournament finale from mid-December, which ND won 72-47. This time around, the Nighthawks kept it close throughout, and were seconds away from going to overtime before the Lancers pulled off the win, 59-56.

Newtown was down nine points with less than a minute and a half to play before battling back to tie the score on Steimle’s 3-pointer with under 20 seconds to go. Notre Dame’s Earl Coleman drove to the basket, initiated contact, got the foul call and converted a 3-point play with a handful of seconds remaining for the win. Steimle hit two 3-pointers and Quinn, who led the Hawks with 22 points, came up with some crucial points in that late-game run to no avail. Steimle scored 13, and Wilcox had 12 and pulled down 15-plus rebounds. Davis played his best game, Coach Quinn noted.

“It was probably one of the best basketball games I’ve been involved in,” John Quinn said. “It was incredible. We fought ’em all the way.

“I think we all know we’re better than 3-9. These kids continue to play hard — every time we play, we play harder,” the coach added. “I know we’re going to start to win some games. These kids are just too good and too focused not to make it happen.”

The Hawks will have to make it happen soon if they are going to extend the season into the playoffs. John Quinn believes his team can make a run at one of the SWC tourney’s final spots, or get into the state tournament. The team takes on yet another formidable conference opponent — Brookfield — at home this Friday, January 27, at 7 pm.