STRATFORD - Just as Newtown High School's boys' basketball team fought back from a slow start to the season to make things interesting down the stretch, the Nighthawks made runs to chip away at host Stratford in the season finale, on February 21.

Newtown's battle ended in defeat, 69-61. This was a crucial game for both teams; they went into the contest with identical records and in need of a win to qualify for both the South-West Conference and state playoffs, with the losing squad headed home until next winter.

The Nighthawks finish at 7-13 overall and 8-5 in conference action; Stratford ends the regular slate at 8-12 and 6-7 and moves on to play top-seeded Notre Dame-Fairfield in the SWC playoffs.

"We fought 'til the very end. I'm very proud of this team. It was a real enjoyable team this year as far as the way these boys stayed the course the entire season," Newtown Coach Tim Tallcouch said.

Derek Ivey led Newtown with 17 points, Sam Grossano scored 11, Tom Cotton and Nick Weiland both dropped in nine, Tucker Garrity had seven, Robert DiSibio and Evan Eggleston both had three, and Todd Petersen tacked on two.

Grossano had six assists and three steals, Eggleston had six assists, Ivey logged a trio of blocks, and Weiland had a pair of steals. Ivey pulled down five rebounds and Cotton, Weiland, and Grossano had four apiece.

Newtown was outrebounded 27-20 as a team; Stratford had two-thirds of its pull-downs in the second half.

"We got hurt on the boards," said Tallcouch, adding that 30 is the magic number the Hawks aim for in the rebounding department each time out on the floor.

Newtown trailed 21-17 after one quarter of play and 39-29 at halftime. The Nighthawks got to within a basket at 44-42. Grossano's 3-pointer from the corner, Weiland's finish on a fast break, and Petersen's two points off a fake in the paint displayed Newtown's versatility on offense during the run. Stratford, however, responded to go up 11.

It was 53-45 heading to the fourth as Garrity beat the buzzer with 3-pointer to get the Stratford advantage back down to single digits.

The Nighthawks hung around throughout the fourth quarter, but couldn't get the deficit any lower than seven.

Newtown has been playing in basically must-win games for more than a month to climb into the playoff picture and Tallcouch is hopeful exposure to these pressure situations will benefit his underclassmen in seasons to come. The Newtown coach added that the team members never quit and played hard the entire season.

"The seniors have given us everything," Tallcouch said.