Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team went on the road and handed Kolbe Cathedral its first conference loss in six games, defeating the Cougars 67-62 at Cardinal Shehan Center in Bridgeport on January 23. The Nighthawks returned home to face Immaculate of Danbury on January 27 and prevailed 79-52.

A common thread in these games was the Nighthawks battling back after rough opening quarters and seizing control as the Hawks won their fifth in a row and improved to 8-5 overall (5-2 in South-West Conference action).

Against Kolbe, the Nighthawks were outscored 25-13 after one quarter and 43-33 at the half, but put up 20 points in the third to pull to 56-53 going to the fourth. NHS battled back for the win, limiting the Cougars to six points in the fourth. Jayden Desir lit up the scoreboard with 21 points in the first half, but was limited to just four in the second half as Newtown switched up its defensive strategies on Kolbe’s standout scorer, who ultimately fouled out of the game in the final few minutes.

Aidan Walker returned to the lineup after being sidelined for several games because of illness, and played immediate dividends with 19 points to lead the Hawk scoring. James Glynn scored 13, and Luke Stewart had 12. Teddy Moxham added nine, and Spencer Maddox eight.

Quinn Velez grabbed seven rebounds and blocked a shot. Moxham and Walker both had five rebounds. Walker had three assists and a trio of steals, and Moxham blocked a pair of shots and had a steal.

“Regardless of where we play it’s hard to win on the road but the Shehan Center is harder than most. It’s dark, it’s loud — they’re good,” NHS Coach Matt Murphy said of the Cougars and their not-so-friendly confines.

Newtown fell behind 12-0 in a turnover-laden start before some time-outs and adjustments got things settled for the visitors. It was a similar sort of beginning versus Immaculate, with the Mustangs leading 20-13 after one quarter of play. The Hawks turned it on in the second, posting a whopping 29 points in the stanza to take a 42-27 lead into halftime.

“Our defensive intensity in the second was outstanding,” said Murphy, noting that strong defense led to more opportunities on offense.

NHS pulled away in the third and led 61-39 going to the fourth.

Murphy likes his team’s resiliency but would prefer to see his lineup get off to quicker starts before it costs the Hawks.

“We have a tendency to fail before we finish. Tonight we were able to dig out of it; against Kolbe we were able to dig out of it,” Murphy said.

Against Immaculate, the second-quarter turnaround was spearheaded by that collective defensive play coupled with ten points from Walker, seven from Emmet Regan, five each from Stewart and Glynn, and two from Moxham.

When all was said and done, Walker had 21 to lead the way — “He definitely adds a spark,” Murphy said of having his point guard back on the court — Stewart had 13, Regan 11, Glynn nine, Marcus Gerace six, Moxham five, and Spencer Maddox four. Quinn Kull and Luke Libero each added 3-pointers, and Quinn Velez, who scored his points with a crowd-pleasing dunk, and Joe Rossomando each added two. Cam Kullgren also got some varsity minutes under his belt.

Moxham came up with timely blocks. Gerace helped the Hawks have a four-point trip down the court in the third quarter; his offensive rebound set up Walker’s baseline drive for a basket despite a foul. Gerace tracked down the rebound off the missed free throw, which led to Maddox drawing a foul and draining both of his shots. Gerace added a late basket and foul shot for a 3-point play the old fashioned way. Walker had two of Newtown’s five 3-pointers.

The Hawks host New Milford Friday, January 30 and entertain Bunnell of Stratford Monday, February 2 — both at 7 pm.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.