Girls

Grade 7

Fairfield 33, Newtown 23: In the first game of the Christian Heritage Tournament, Newtown received a 12-point effort from Olyvia Shaw, but could not keep pace with a taller Fairfield squad. Hailey Conrad pulled down 6 rebounds, with Natalie Shaker and Jess Maturo corralling 5 apiece. Maturo had a game high 9 steals, followed by 7 from Jillian Pieretti and 5 from Conrad. Shaker (2 points) dished 3 assists, and Cassidy Datin added a basket and 2 assists.

Newtown 20, Stamford 12: In the second end of a double-header, Newtown pressed the entire game, made all the more impressive given the team only suited 6 players. The result was a season high 38 steals, led by Shaw with an incredible 15 thefts. Maturo and Pieretti had 8 steals apiece, Datin 3, and Shaker and Conrad 2 each. Shaw scored 8, Maturo 5, and Conrad and Pieretti 3 apiece. Datin and Shaker each had 7 rebounds.

Newtown 23, Devon of Milford 26: In the final game of the tournament, Newtown was up at the half, but found itself down six late in the fourth when Meghan Doyle (7 points) hit a long 3-pointer to halve the gap. Newtown had a chance to tie, but another 3-pointer came up just short as the buzzer sounded. Shaw scored 6, and Pieretti and Maturo each had 4. Datin and Pieretti pulled down 7 boards each, while Doyle and Shaker had 5 apiece. Datin, Shaw, Pieretti, and Maturo all had 5 steals. Maturo added 3 assists.

Boys

Grade 7

Newtown 59, Woodbridge 41: Newtown won its second game in the Southern Connecticut Holiday Tournament in Ansonia. The Nighthawks’ leading scorers were Hayes Kelchner with 20 points, Mitchell Savoca who had 12 points, Patrick Conte with 11 points, and Jack Lavelle who had 10. Tom Cotton also played well on defense forcing several turnovers.

Ansonia 47, Newtown 40: Newtown fell to Ansonia in the last round robin game of the tourney. The Nighthawks came back from a 9-point deficit to take the lead in the second half, but ultimately could not contain Ansonia’s Cameron Sellers who scored 28 points. For Newtown, Ben Mason returned from injury with some strong rebounding and scored 10 points. Patrick Conte lead Newtown with 14 points and Jack Moulder contributed 6 points.

Fairfield Hoops 51, Newtown 38: In the championship round of the tournament, Newtown fell behind 15-3 in the first quarter and never recovered. Ben Mason was the leading scorer for the Nighthawks with 12 points, Patrick Conte had 11 points, and Bobby Haskins netted 10 points.

 Grade 8

Newtown posted a 2-2 record in the Christian Heritage Tournament in Ansonia. Newtown lost the tourney consolation game on a buzzer beater, 40-38 to West Haven. West Haven jumped out to an 18-4 lead after one quarter of play, but Newtown, inspired by Coach Carp, fought all the way back to tie the game at 32 after three quarters. Mason Melillo was the on-court catalyst, as he poured in 13 points for the quarter, including three 3-pointers. The fourth quarter was tightly-contested, with neither team taking more than a two-point lead. West Haven was up by two with a little more than a minute to play, but as they tried to drain the clock, Jamie Cochrane came up with a steal that ultimately led to Ryan Shaw being fouled. Shaw sank both ends of a one-and-one to tie the game. Newtown regained possession with 19 seconds remaining, but left too much time on the clock when they missed a shot for the win, allowing a West Haven guard to put up a shot as the buzzer sounded. Ethan Carpenter had several assists from the point, while Andrew Svanda and Nick Samuelson came off the bench to provide rebounding and tough interior defense. In Newtown’s two victories over Guilford and Ansonia, Matt Gerics and Dillon Palumbo were the leading scorers, combining for 31 points in the 39-32 victory over Ansonia. For the tourney, Matt Maturo was strong on the offensive boards, while James Frazzetta and Geoff Santore played tenacious defense.