By Kim J. Harmon

It wasn’t supposed to be much of a game. And it almost wasn’t.

But to prove the truth of that old and overused saying, “that’s why they play the game,” the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team survived its own lackadaisicalness and a determined rally by New Milford and escaped with a 48-47 win on Tuesday night in the first round of the CIAC Class LL state tournament.

The Lady Nighthawks took a 15-1 lead at the end of the first period and – considering they had beaten the Green Wave by 14 during the regular season – were ready to mail in the rest of the game and and prepare themselves for a tougher bout against No. 5 Stamford.

But, lo and behold, their shots stopped falling and New Milford began inching its way back into the game and before anyone knew it, the Green Wave had taken a four-point lead with just a couple minutes left on the clock.

As in so many other instances, however, Christie Iwanicki helped pull her team through. A three-point rim-dancer and an assist to Kristi Nowak lifted the ‘Hawks back into the lead while Katie Power iced it with a couple of free throws with 10 seconds left on the clock.

The ‘Hawks led 15-1 at the end of one and 25-15 at the end of the first half, but the Wave rallied in the third, out-scoring the locals 18-11 to pull to within three. Emma Crowcroft canned 15 points and Samantha Dougherty added 14 more to fuel New Milford’s improbable run.

Iwanicki finished with 14 points to lead the ‘Hawks while Nowak added nine points and 12 rebounds. Power and Morgan Knees tossed in eight points apiece as Darcy Fiscella grabbed seven boards.

Newtown 48, New Milford 47

NEW MILFORD (47): Samantha Dougherty 6 2-3 14, Cassie Novicky 0 1-2 1, Hayley Currie 3 0-0 7, Emma Crowcroft 3 9-13 15, Katherine Sovero 4 0-1 8, Danielle Dwyer 0 2-2 2, Samantha Lurcott 0 0-0 0, Jacquie Lindo 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 15 14-21 47.

NEWTOWN (48): Christie Iwanicki 5 1-4 14, Jen Brewer 0 0-0 0, Jordan Good 0 0-0 0, Nora Lynn Shimko 1 0-0 2, Darcy Fiscella 2 0-0 4, Kristi Nowak 4 1-4 9, Katie Power 2 2-2 8, Morgan Knees 3 2-2 8, Katie Condon 1 1-2 3. TOTALS: 18 7-14 48.

Three-pointers: Iwanicki (N) 3, Power (N) 2, Nowak (N), Currie (NM).

WRESTLING

39th in State Open

Losing in the 119-pound finals of the South-West Conference tournament did little to slow John Gouveia down.

One week after earning a CIAC Class LL title, Gouveia – a sophomore with a gaudy 64-11 record – finished third at the CIAC State Open and qualified for the 43rd annual New England Tournament this weekend at Hillhouse High School in New Haven.

As the youngest qualifier, he will open the competition against Wesley Simpson of Randolph High School in Randolph, Massachusetts.

Gouveia opened the State Open tournament with a 3-0 win over Curtis Watkins of Fairfield Warde and then pounded Michael Daly of St. Bernards, 12-0, to reach the semi-finals. There, he was topped by Este Lara of Avon, 15-5, and dropped into the consolation bracket where he defeated Watkins again, 4-2, and then CJ Satti of Ledyard, 11-2, to finish in third.

Gouveia has unofficially been ranked No. 1 in Connecticut at 119 pounds for the upcoming 2007-08 season – ahead of Charlie Costanzo of Danbury and Satti of Ledyard – according to rankings compiled by former Griswold coach Dave Nowakowski.

TEAMS: 1. Danbury 140, 2. Griswold 82, 3. Ledyard 71, 4. New Milford 68, 5. Middletown 49, 6. Stamford 48, 7. Platt Tech 40.5, 8. Ridgefield 39.5, 9. Trumbull 39, 10. Berlin 38.5, 11. Norwich Free Academy 34, 12. New Britain 33.5, 13. Weaver 32, 14. Stratford 31, 15. Montville 31, 16. Amity 31, 17. South Windsor 29.5, 18. Hand 29, 19. Avon 28, 20. Greenwich 27.5, 21. RHAM 27, 22. Norwalk 27, 23. Bacon Academy 26, 24. Newington 25.5, 25. Windham 25, 26. Masuk 24, 27. Fitch 24, 28. Woodstock Academy 23, 29. Wethersfield 22, 30. East Lyme 22, 31. Somers 21, 32. Guilford 21, 33. Derby 20, 34. Simsbury 19, 35. Southington 18, 36. East Windsor 18, 37. Westhill 17, 38. Fermi 17, 39. Newtown 16, 40. Morgan 16, 41. Jonathan Law 14, 42. Hall 14, 43. New Canaan 13, 44. Bristol Eastern 13, 45. Branford 13, 46. Bristol Central 12, 47. New Fairfield 11, 48. Manchester 10, 49. Fairfield Warde 10, 50. Conard 10, 51. Brien McMahon 9, 52. Killingly 7, 53. Cheney Tech 6, 54. Bethel 6, 55. Foran 5.5, 56. Rockville 5, 57. Maloney 5, 58. Cheshire 5, 59. Bunnell 5, 60. Housatonic 4, 61. Glastonbury 4, 62. Farmington 4, 63. Brookfield 4, 64. Suffield 3, 65. Portland 3, 66. Joel Barlow 3, 67. Immaculate 3, 68. St. Bernards 2, 69. Seymour 2, 70. Rocky Hill 2, 71. Windham Tech 1, 72. Thomaston 1, 73. Staples 1, 74. East Catholic 1.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Bunnell 76, Newtown 62

Weston 78, Newtown 64

Like Sisyphus with his futile effort to push that boulder up the hill, the Newtown High School boys’ basketball team was unable to shift direction on its season and big a hasty exit in the South-West Conference tournament last weekend.

The Nighthawks – losers of eight of their last nine games – fell to Weston, 78-64, at Pomperaug in the SWC quarterfinals and will await the opening round of the CIAC Class LL state tournament next week.

The ‘Hawks limped out of the regular season with a 76-62 loss to Bunnell last week, seeing their marvelous 10-2 start turn into an 11-9 finish.

The No. 26 Nighthawks will visit No. 7 Torrington (18-2) on Monday for a 7 pm tip.

Things were looking pretty good for the locals, though, in the opening period of the SWC quarterfinals. Kevin Troy took the opening tip right to the basket for two quick points and then Mike Kennedy dropped in a pair of buckets before Joe DeVellis’ drive to the hoop staked the ‘Hawks to an 8-2 lead.

Their fortunes almost immediately turned sour, though, as the Trojans dropped in a three-pointer and took an 11-10 lead before a Troy free throw evened things out at 11-11 by the close of the session. Troy had a sparkling period and had a signature play on defense, swatting away a shot by Trojan big man John Galvin.

A Jake DeVellis steal and drive at the open of the second period staked Newtown to a 13-11 lead and the ‘Hawks managed to maintain the lead – or at least a draw – as Kennedy knocked down a couple of buckets and Troy dropped in another while adding another block on Galvin.

But a Weston three-pointer midway through the second erased a two-point Newtown advantage and provided the final lead change of the game. Before the end of the half, the ‘Hawks had dropped eight points behind the Trojans and never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

Down as much as 19 points in the second half, though, the ‘Hawks did rally a bit and Jack Quinn gave them a fresh ray of hope when he knocked down his only bucket of the game, a three-pointer, with 2:55 left to play to trim the Weston lead to nine.

But the Trojans quickly answered with a bucket – and one – and coasted to the finish.

Jeff Ledwick led all scorers with 22 points while Galvin added 20 and Ben Kosinski – with a 10-for-10 performance from the foul line – chipped in 10. For the ‘Hawks, Troy and Jake DeVellis tossed in 15 points apiece while Kennedy added 12.

In the regular season loss to Bunnell, four different Newtown players scored in double figures – Joe DeVellis (14), Troy (13), Kennedy (12) and Tucker Kass (11) – but they couldn’t offset the 23-point effort of Terrell Coward.

There were 12 three-point buckets in that game.

Bunnell 76, Newtown 62

BUNNELL (76): Terrell Coward 10 3-6 23, Evan Kulhawik 2 6-6 12, Taylor Lasko 1 0-0 3, Matt Wojuicki 6 6-6 18, Jeff Farrell 0 0-2 0, Danny Paoline 4 1-1 10, Ryan Butler 4 2-2 10. TOTALS: 27 17-23 76.

NEWTOWN (62): Joe DeVellis 6 0-2 14, Mike Kennedy 5 2-2 12, Jack Quinn 0 2-2 2, Shaun Coakley 0 0-0 0, Tucker Kass 5 0-0 11, PJ Cochrane 0 0-0 0, Mike Maher 2 0-0 5, Kevin Troy 5 0-0 13, Dan Smith 1 1-2 4, Jake DeVellis 0 1-2 1, Greg Rodden 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 24 6-10 62.

Three-pointers: Kevin Troy (N) 3, Joey DeVellis (N) 2, Evan Kulhawik (B) 2, Dan Smith (N), Mike Maher (N), Tucker Kass (N), Danny Paoline (B), Taylor Lasko (B).

Weston 78, Newtown 64

NEWTOWN (64): Mike Kennedy 5 2-2 12, Tucker Kass 1 0-0 2, Dan Smith 1 1-2 3, Jack Quinn 1 0-0 3, Kevin Troy 3 9-11 15, Jake DeVellis 4 6-7 15, Shaun Coakley 3 0-0 6, Joe DeVellis 3 2-2 8, Erik Dreher 0 0-0 0, JP McDade 0 0-0 0, PJ Cochrane 0 0-0 0, Mike Maher 0 0-0 0, Greg Rodden 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 21 20-24 64.

WESTON (78): John Galvin 6 8-11 20, Jeff Ledwick 6 9-11 22, Spencer Joseph 1 1-1 3, Ben Kosinski 0 10-10 10, Tom Montelli 6 1-4 13, Mark Shaw 3 0-0 8, Oliver Barron 0 0-0 0, Conor Babcock 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 24 19-26 78.

Three-pointers: Quinn (N), Jake DeVellis (N), Shaw (W), Ledwick (W).

HOCKEY

Newtown 5, Watertown 4

Sheehan 5, Newtown 4

Things did not look promising for the Newtown High School hockey team – not after being out-shot 20-5 and falling into a 3-0 hole against Sheehan on Tuesday night at the Choate-Rosemary Hall Rink in Wallingford.

And things looked even worse when the Nighthawks fell into a 5-1 hole after two periods after being out-shot 32-9.

But there is a reason why the games are played to the finish and the locals proved the truth of that axiom when they rallied for three goals in the final period and very nearly sent the game into overtime when a deflected puck glanced off the crossbar at the final horn.

The ‘Hawks, though, dropped a 5-4 decision to close out the regular season at 13-6-1, 7-3-0 in the South-West Conference. Currently ranked third in CIAC Division III (behind 15-4-1 Sheehan and 15-5-0 Manchester), the locals opened the SWC Division II-III tournament on Thursday against New Fairfield.

Sheehan wasted little time on Tuesday, scoring less than three minutes into the game off a rebound. Goals at the 10:54 and 1:07 mark allowed the Titans – who dominated the play inside their own blue line – to take a 3-0 lead.

The lead extended to 4-0 early in the second period, but Pat Daly finally got the locals on the board with a goal off an assist from Francis Oggeri. The Titans, answered back, however at the 8:12 mark to take a 5-1 lead.

Daly scored again to open the third off an assist from Wright and came back several minutes later off an assist from Oggeri to pull the ‘Hawks to within one. And with 44.3 seconds left, Blake Bell – off another assist from Wright – ripped a shot from the blue line that snuck past the goaltender to pull the locals to within one.

The ‘Hawks had picked up the pace considerably in the third and really ratcheted up the pressure in the waning seconds. With 13 ticks left on the clock, the locals got the puck into the crease but two hard jabs failed to push it past the end line. And with three seconds left, a shot from the left circle was deflected into the air, glancing off the goaltender’s glove and just off the crossbar as the final horn sounded.

It would have been a sparkling finish to the regular season.

In a 5-4 win over Watertown/Pomperaug last Saturday, Francis Oggeri scored three goals while Christian Beitel and Pat Daly added a goal apiece to lead the way. Matt Wright assisted on three goals as goaltender Mitch Bloomberg made 18 saves.

SWIMMING

Newtown 94, Barlow 85

Newtown 98, Masuk 74

It is an almost foregone conclusion that the Pomperaug High School swimming & diving team will be standing alone at the end of the South-West Conference championships on Friday at Masuk High School in Monroe.

But where will Brookfield, New Fairfield and Newtown fit in?

Newtown head coach Matt Childs thinks the Nighthawks have a fair shot of surpassing New Fairfield and making Brookfield sweat a little bit – especially considering the relative tight finishes of the dual meets with the Bobcats (January 19) and Rebels (January 30).

The ‘Hawks closed out the regular season at 8-3 with a 94-85 win over Joel Barlow/Immaculate on February 6 and a 98-74 win over Masuk on February 15.

The SWC championships (diving was performed on Wednesday, after press time) will start at 6 pm … weather permitting.

Newtown 94, Masuk 74

200 medley relay – 1. Newtown (Fiore, Maurer, Toi, Bonaccorso) 1:49.65, 2. Newtown (Hood, Hubbard, Iassogna, O’Connor) 1:53.40, 3. Masuk 2:04.56. 200 freestyle – 1. Kron (N) 1:56.39, 2. J. Lui (M) 1:56.39, 3. L. Fiore (N) 1:58.17, 4. Kerring (N) 2:02.96, 5. Honrath (M) 2:06.39. 200 individual medley – 1. A. Fiore (N) 2:12.61, 2. Hood (N) 2:17.61, 3. C. Lui (M) 2:29.48, 4. C. Fragoso (N) 2:29.69, 5. Smith (M) 2:45.48. 50 freestyle – 1. J. O’Connor (N) 24.85, 2. Bonaccorso (N) 25.08, 3. Chmura (M) 25.08, 4. K. O’Connor (N) 26.33, 5. Krarcher (M) 26.61. Diving – 1. Bobkowski (N) 125.65 points, 2. M. Neaton (M) 125.05, 3. J. Neaton (M) 123.55, 4. O’Day (M) 123.40, 5. Bierce (N) 116.75. 10 butterfly – 1. Maurer (N) 59.92, 2. C. Lui (M) 1:00.19, 3. Iassogna (N) 1:01.54, 4. J. Lui (M) 1:03.55, 5. C. Fragoso (N) 1:06.05. 100 freestyle – 1. Hubbard (N) 53.41, 2. L. Fiore (N) 55.11, 3. Chmura (M) 55.25, 4. Herring (N) 58.99, 5. McCann (M) 1:02.76. 500 freestyle – 1. Kron (N) 5:17.96, 2. Honrath (M) 5:45.23, 3. Rothacker (N) 5:54.47, 4. DeRose (M) 6:16.37, 5. K. O’Connor (N) 6:43.74. 200 freestyle relay – 1. Newtown (Bonaccorso, Maurer, Toi, L. Fiore) 1:40.39, 2. Newtown (C. Fragoso, Herring, O’Connor, Iassogna) 1:44.14, 3. Masuk 1:46.51. 100 backstroke – 1. Fiore (N) 58.38, 2. Hood (N) 1:01.98, 3. Smith (M) 1:10.07, 4. Morlath (N) 1:14.55, 5. Donlon (M) 1:17.28. 100 breaststroke – 1. Hubbard (N) 1:08.52, 2.  Toi (N) 1:12.74, 3. T. Fragoso (N) 1:12.74, 4. McCann (M) 1:17.31. 400 freestyle relay – 1. Masuk 3:51.16, 2. Newtown (Bonaccorso, Rothacker, Maurer, Herring) 3:51.16, 3. Masuk 3:55.73.

*NOTE – Newtown swam the final three events unofficially.

Newtown 98, Barlow 85

200 medley relay – 1. Barlow 1:49.72, 2. Newtown (A. Fiore, Hubbard, Iassogna, J. O’Connor) 1:53.53, 3. Newtown (Hood, Fragoso, K. O’Connor, Herring) 1:54.86. 200 freestyle – 1. Kron (N) 1:56.54, 2. L. Fiore (N) 1:57.94, 3. Deans (B) 1:59.21, 4. Maurer (N) 2:02.76, 5. Snyder (B) 2:24.98. 200 individual medley – 1. Fonk (B) 2:07.07, 2. A. Fiore (N) 2:08.78, 3. Hood (N) 2:15.29, 4. Deans (B) 2:15.69, 5. Fragoso (N) 2:27.73. 50 freestyle – 1. Harder (B) 23.89, 2. Toi (N) 24.16, 3. Bonaccorso (N) 25.32, 4. Rothacker (N) 26.83, 5. Gibney (B) 28.38. Diving – 1. Amanda (B) 151.7 points, 2. Bierce (N) 129.35, 3. Bobkowski (N) 118.20, 4. Jagoe (N) 106.50. 100 butterfly – 1. DePaoli (B) 56.65, 2. Maurer (N) 58.94, 3. Iassogna (N) 1:01.04, 4. Deans (B) 1:05.64, 5. K. O’Connor (N) 1:18.10. 100 freestyle – 1. Toi (N) 51.11, 2. Harder (B) 51.22, 3. Kron (N) 55.13, 4. Herring (N) 55.35, 5. Snyder (B) 1:03.13. 500 freestyle – 1. Scourth (B) 5:10.69, 2. L. Fiore (N) 5:36.32, 3. J. O’Connor (N) 5:40.53, 4. Fraogos (N) 6:09.48, 5. Bandernitz (B) 6:56.00. 200 medley relay – 1. Newtown (Herring, Toi, L. Fiore, Kron) 1:40.79, 2. Newtown (Bonaccorso, Maurer, Rothacker, Stein) 1:43.26, 3. Barlow 1:49.00. 100 backstroke – 1. Scourth (B) 57.81, 2. A. Fiore (N) 58/27, 3. DePaoli (B) 1:00.20, 4. Hood (N) 1:01.15, 5. Crevier (N) 1:19.67. 100 breaststroke – 1. Dink (B) 1:08.57, 2. Hubbard (N) 1:10.64, 3. Deans (B) 1:11.53, 4. Fragoso (N) 1:12.82, 5. K. O’Connor 1:18.53. 400 freestyle relay – 1. Barlow 3:33.97, 2. Newtown (A. Fiore, Hood, Toi, L. Fiore) 3:34.82, 3. Newtown (Maurer, J. O’Connor, Iassogna, Kron) 3:51.58.

*NOTE – Newtown swam the final event unofficially.