By Kim J. Harmon

The image is an indelible one – that of the hapless skier in the intro to The Wide World of Sports stumbling down the run and over the wall as the faceless announcer intones the athletic mantra, “The thrill of victory … and the agony of defeat.”

Ah, yes – the agony of defeat.

The Newtown High School girls’ basketball team experienced it last Friday in the South-West Conference championship against Masuk (see related story above) while the boys’ basketball team experienced it Tuesday night in the SWC semi-finals against Weston.

The key to surviving that agony is to bounce back.

The girls – ranked 11th in the most recent Hartford Courant poll (and seventh in Class LL) – bounced back with a 76-49 win over Stamford in the first round of the CIAC Class LL state tournament. And the boys will get their chance to bounce back next week when their CIAC Class LL state tournament opens.

The missed foul shots.

The shots that went in and out.

A run of bad luck struck the Newtown High School boys’ basketball team at the worst time – in the fourth quarter of the South-West Conference semifinals – and Weston, which had been down but never thoroughly out, took advantage and advanced to the championship game by virtue of a 59-55 win over Newtown.

Clinging to a three-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter, the Nighthawks – who had been up as much as 10 points – missed three foul shots and three layups in the first few moments and that was all the Trojans needed to take control of the game.

With 3:19 left in the fourth, the Trojans sank a pair of free throws and took a 52-50 lead … their first lead of the game.

Another foul shot with 1:50 left and a field goal with 1:22 left gave the Trojans a comfortable 55-50 lead. As the game was slipping away, Andrew Fiscella drove to the basket with 41 seconds left for the Nighthawks’ first field goal of the quarter.

Marcus Tracy popped in a three-pointer with 9.8 seconds left for Newtown’s only other field goal of the period.

Oddly, the ‘Hawks – who advanced to the semifinals with a convincing 71-50 win over Immaculate last Saturday – led right from the opening tip. Brian Smith scored two consecutive baskets to get the ‘Hawks started. In the first quarter, Fiscella scored six points and Ronnie Shimko scored three to give the ‘Hawks a 13-8 lead.

Tracy canned a couple of three-pointers and Fiscella added one of his own in the second quarter as the ‘Hawks increased their lead to nine points, 37-28. Fiscella had 10 points in that one period alone, but he – and the ‘Hawks – were unable to knock the Trojans out.

With 5-of-6 shooting from the foul line, the Trojans inched to within four points by the close of the first half.

The ‘Hawks continued to search for the knockout blow in the third quarter and seemed to have it. An 8-0 run – fueled by baskets from Smith (2), Fiscella and Tracy – gave the ‘Hawks a 45-33 lead early in the period. But the Trojans – with the aid of two three-pointers – went on a 13-4 run to close out the period and trim the Newtown lead to 49-46.

And at that point, the ‘Hawks went cold.

Ice cold.

The ‘Hawks scored just six points in the fourth quarter (and only one point in the first 7:19) as the Trojans raced by them for the win. In the loss, Fiscella led the way with 22 points while Tracy had 11. Anderson and Smith combined for 19 points.

In the win over Immaculate, Fiscella and Anderson scored 20 points apiece to offset a strong 24-point effort by Immaculate’s Josh Deutscher. The ‘Hawks jumped out to a 14-6 lead at the end of one period, but the Mustangs rallied in the second period to close the gap to two.

In the third, the ‘Hawks increased the lead to seven points but in the fourth – with 24 points – really broke the game open. Tracy contributed 10 points while Shimko canned nine points and Devon Manfredonia and Smith added four apiece.

There were 15 three-pointers in the game and Newtown had 11 of those.

Immaculate                  50

Newtown                       71

IMMACULATE (50): McEwan 2 0-0 6, Doyon 0 0-0 0, Soares 0 0-0 0, White 0 0-0 0, Nelson 3 0-1 7, Plumb 1 0-0 2, Simone 0 0-0 0, Cordery 0 0-0 0, Deutscher 9 5-5 24, Gerrity 6 0-2 12 (TOTALS: 21 5-8 50). NEWTOWN (71): Manfredonia 2 0-0 4, Fiscella 6 6-8 20, Tracy 3 2-2 10, Santella 0 0-0 0, Shimko 3 0-0 9, Oliver 0 0-0 0, DeVellis 0 0-0 0, Quinn 0 0-0 0, Smith 2 0-0 4, Anderson 7 2-2 20, Rouse 1 2-2 4 (TOTALS: 24 12-14 71).

Three-pointers: Anderson (N) 4, Shimko (N) 3, Fiscella (N) 2, Tracy (N) 2, McEwan (I) 2, Deutscher (I), Nelson (I).

Newtown                       92

Brookfield                     59

NEWTOWN (92): Anderson 5 7-8 17, Fiscella 13 3-3 30, Manfredonia 3 0-0 6, Oliver 2 0-1 4, Shimko 7 3-5 21, Tracy 1 0-0 2, Lyddy 1 0-0 3, Quinn 0 1-2 1, Santella 2 0-2 4, McLaughlin 0 0-0 0, Smith 1 1-2 3 (TOTALS: 35 16-23 92). BROOKFIELD (59): Susco 9 0-1 21, Schueschner 3 0-1 7, Mackiewicz 2 0-0 5, Yusko 4 0-1 9, Thompson 1 0-0 3, O’Leary 1 0-0 2, Deakin 1 0-0 3, Wildman 6 1-3 15 (TOTALS: 27 1-6 59).

Three-pointers: Shimko 4 (N), Fiscella (N), Lyddy (N), Susco 3 (B), Thompson (B), Yusko (B), Mackiewicz (B), Deakin (B).

Newtown                       55

Weston                            59

NEWTOWN (55): Fiscella 8 5-5 22, Tracy 4 0-0 11, Shimko 1 0-0 3, Smith 5 0-0 10, Anderson 3 3-7 9, Manfredonia 0 0-0 0, Rouse 0 0-0 0, Santella 0 0-0 0 (TOTALS: 21 8-12 55). WESTON (59): Sisca 8 7-10 26, Strong 7 2-2 17, Bear 0 5-6 5, Chase 4 3-4 11, Galvin 0 0-0 0, Amberson 0 0-0 0, Jamieson 0 0-0 0 (TOTALS: 19 17-22 59).

Three-pointers: Tracy (N) 3, Fiscella (N), Shimko (N), Sisca (W) 3, Strong (W).

It’s a long shot.

Yet it’s still possible.

Head coach Rory Perry knows it would take a lot of great performances – and a lot of good karma, to boot – for the Newtown High School swim team to capture third at the South-West Conference championships this week at Foran High School in Milford.

“Third is a lofty goal, but it’s what we’re shooting for,” said coach Perry. “For us to get third, they will have to swim out of their minds and everything would have to fall into place. But if we came in fourth and still dropped a lot of time on our swims, we’ll still be happy.”

Brookfield is the odds-on favorite to roll to its second consecutive SWC title. Pomperaug and New Fairfield will battle each other for second place, but if Newtown swims particularly well and enough points get split up among the top three teams, then who knows?

Divers CJ Maurer and Steve Truitt (who competed on Wednesday night … after press time) headed into the SWCs as title favorites. The same can’t really be said for any other local swimmers, but the Nighthawks are still sending a strong crew into the meet.

w200 medley relay – The ‘Hawks are hoping for second with Zack Moliver, Jake Maher, Andrew Heller and Chris Jacob. The unit is less than five seconds from snapping a school record … and if not this year, then maybe next as all are coming back.

w200 freestyle – The ‘Hawks need some big swims from Dave LaMarche (seed time 2:04) and Scott Whalley (2:09), who should be on the cusp of scoring. PJ O’Dell (2:13) and Nick Maurer (2:13) will also compete.

w200 individual medley – The ‘Hawks hope Heller (2:13), Moliver (2:18) and Maher (2:22) can all finish in the top eight.

w50 freestyle – A strong crew is led by Jacob (24.1), Truitt (25.2), CJ Maurer (25.2) and Sean Reilly. “It’s great that Maurer and Truitt have seen so versatile,” said coach Perry, “and Reilly has been phenomenal for a first-year swimmer.”

w100 butterfly – Expected to be a stacked event at the SWCs, the ‘Hawks are hoping Heller (58.1) can finish high while LaMarche (1:03) and Jim Modzelewski (1:08) can score.

w100 freestyle – One of the glamour events at the SWCs, the ‘Hawks would get a lift as Jacob (52.91) takes a crack at the school record.

w500 freestyle – Another stacked event, the ‘Hawks hope Whalley (5:48) and Jim Morlath (5:56) can score. O’Dell (6:00) and Dave Modzelewski (6:13) will also compete. “They are looking awesome in practice,” said coach Perry, “and feeling the effects of the taper.”

w200 freestyle relay – A top four finish would require CJ Maurer, Truitt, Maher and LaMarche to drop their splits into the 24s.

w100 backstroke – Modzelewski (1:16), Parker (1:10) and Moliver (1:01.9) will take their cracks in this event.

w100 breaskstroke – The ‘Hawks could get a top three or four finish from Maher (1:08).

w400 freestyle relay – A top three finish is possible for the foursome of Heller, Jacob, LaMarche and Moliver (3:38). “Chris has been coming up huge,” said coach Perry, “and I need Zach and Dave to go 54s and 55s because 58s are not going to cut it.”

The SWCs will commence at 6 pm.

The loss to Masuk in the South-West Conference championship game might have had some lingering effects, but the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team was able to shake them off in time to crush Stamford, 76-49, in the first round of the CIAC Class LL state tournament.

“I hope we were able to turn the corner (on the loss),” said head coach Tim Salem. “With a game like that, it’s difficult to bounce back … and you saw that here in the first quarter. If we have turned the corner, I think we can make a really good run in this tournament.”

Stamford – ranked 26th in Class LL with a 10-10 record – jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but the Lady Nighthawks quickly rallied and went up as much as 16 points in the first half before going into the break with a comfortable 42-29 lead.

“When we take our time and read the defense,” said coach Salem, “we can do very well. When we rush, that’s when we make mistakes.”

The ‘Hawks were never quite that sharp, but played strong enough in the second half to increase the lead to more than 30 points at some junctures. It was a foul-intensive game, as well, with the two teams combining to shoot 59 foul shots.

The ‘Hawks (19-5 overall) were led by Kelley Haines’ 18-point effort, but Jacky Curran (15) and Ashley Larocque (13) also scored in double figures. Eleven different players scored for the ‘Hawks as coach Salem was able to clear his bench in the fourth quarter.

The ‘Hawks hosted No. 10 Southington on Thursday. A win there would put them in the quarterfinals on Saturday against either No. 2 Windsor (19-2) or No. 18 Wilbur Cross (13-8).

Stamford                        49

Newtown                       76

STAMFORD (49): Rybacka 8 7-13 24, Moriarty 0 3-4 3, Robustelli 0 0-0 0, Chavers 1 0-2 2, Salvatore 4 6-10 14, Lucien 0 0-1 0, Scalise 1 1-2 4, Cordeiro 0 0-0 0, Coleman 0 0-0 0, Malone 0 0-0 0, Sehulster 0 0-0 0, Fodiman 0 0-0 0, Lochard 0 0-0 0, Salvino 1 0-0 2 (TOTALS: 15 17-29 49). NEWTOWN (76): Iwanicki 1 4-7 6, J. Curran 7 1-2 15, Logan 4 1-1 9, Haines 6 6-8 18, O’Connor 0 1-2 1, C. Curran 0 0-0 0, Palermo 1 0-0 2, Simek 0 0-0 0, Larocque 4 5-6 13, King 2 0-0 5, Cooper 2 1-2 5, Filler 0 1-2 1, Fohrenbach 1 0-0 2, Fiscella 0 0-0 0, Iwanicki 0 0-0 0 (TOTALS: 28 19-30 76).

Three-pointers: Haines (N), King (N), Rybacka (S), Scalise (S).

A strong finish.

There may have been no titles to enjoy in his senior year, but Dan McIlrath nevertheless put the finishing touches on the 2003-04 high school wrestling season with a strong sixth-place finish at the CIAC State Open tournament last weekend.

McIlrath finished second at the South-West Conference championships and third at the CIAC Class LL championships. At the same time, Edmund Breitling finished second at the SWC championships and fourth at the CIAC Class LL championships.

Both wrestlers earned a trip to the State Open.

But while McIlrath placed, Breitling did not.

McIlrath pinned Corey Paulish of Ridgefield in 1:33 in the first round of the 103-pound division to advance. He then defeated Thanh Tran of Plainville 11-4 to advance into the semi-finals, but was defeated by Tom Phillips of Killingly 16-5. Dropped into the consolation bracket, McIlrath was stopped 12-0 by Chris Fusco of New Fairfield.

Mike Silvestri of Danbury won the class with 6-1 win over Phillips.

Meanwhile, Brietling was pinned by Shawn Karasevicz of Waterford in 2:45 in the first round of the 189-pound division and then was pinned by Mike Sanders of Rocky Hill in 1:52 in his first bout of the consolation bracket to bow out of the tournament.

Karasevicz defeated Thomas Kruszewski of Montville 6-1 for the class title.

Newtown High School finished 47th out of 50 teams.