NHS Boys’ Basketball Wins Fourth Straight—

Hawks Defeat Immaculate And Bethel

By Andy Hutchison

The Newtown High School boys’ basketball team improved to 12-2 overall (8-1 in the South-West Conference) following a pair of wins this past week.

The Nighthawks defeated Immaculate of Danbury 65-51, on the road, on January 29 and toppled visiting Bethel 74-50 on Tuesday for their fourth straight victory.

In the win over Immaculate, Dan Lynch had 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Josh Engler scored 15 points, pulled down seven rebounds and came up with two steals, and Andy Lapple added a double-double, scoring 11 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and also coming up with two steals.

Against Bethel, Lapple led the offense with 20 points, three rebounds and four assists. Engler added 18 points, to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. Pete Manos had 11 points, nine of which came on three-pointers. Lynch also had 11 points and dished out six assists. Casey Tenney had six rebounds and two steals. The team was 8-for-15 from three-point range and shot 52 percent from the field.

Lapple and Engler have led the offense throughout the campaign. “They’ve been carrying the load offensively,” said NHS Coach John Quinn, adding that Lynch has been a consistent scorer and George Zaruba and Manos have stepped up to play very well of late. Zaruba has been a force in the rebounding department and in guarding opponents’ big men in the paint, the coach said.

“The kids have played very well the last couple of weeks,” said Quinn, whose team’s only loss in January was a nail-biter to unbeaten Stratford.

The experience of the Stratford game, despite the result, could help the Hawks in their next game. Newtown, following a rare Friday off from game action, will visit 12-1 Kolbe Cathedral in Bridgeport at 7 pm on Tuesday, February 9.

Kolbe and Stratford, Quinn points out, have been two of the elite teams in the conference in recent years. Newtown proved against Stratford that it is among the best in the SWC.

“That game — and how well we played — will certainly bring some confidence into the game,” Quinn said.