Although a loss in a state playoff game will end a season, it does not take away from the overall campaign. Such is the case for the Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team. The Nighthawks may have been eliminated in a 70-53 Hall of West Hartford road victory in the first round of the Division II State Tournament on March 4, but this was a good year on the whole, especially considering the circumstances.

“We were very pleased with the buy-in of the kids, the effort, the intensity,” first-year NHS Coach Matt Murphy said.

Murphy noted that it is tough for a team, particularly a group of seniors, to have a new coaching staff on board and change of philosophy in place. Newtown’s coach thought the players adjusted very well and that the seniors were leaders from day one.

The Nighthawks went 13-7 in the regular season, catching fire down the stretch by winning eight of their last nine matchups, before falling in the South-West Conference Tournament quarterfinals to Weston and then to Hall to begin state play.

After a back-and-forth start to the game, No. 18 Hall’s shots began to fall and the No. 15 Nighthawks struggled to score baskets, allowing the visitors to pull away.

“They made more shots than we did,” Murphy said.

The game plan going in, Murphy said, was to identify Hall’s top scorers but Newtown’s players lost the top Titan scorers in transition leading to open looks. When all was said and done, the Titans nailed 11 shots from 3-point range.

It was 17-15 Hall after a high-scoring opening quarter. The Nighthawks got the first four points of the second and seized a 19-17 lead on a Makai Coleman basket, then broke a 19-19 tie when Ben Barber scored with 5:53 to play in the opening half. NHS went up 23-19 but went several minutes without scoring during which time the Titans went on a 14-0 run for a 32-23 advantage.

Drew Bradley’s defensive rebound led to Aidan Walker’s 3-pointer in the final half minute and it was 32-26 Titans at halftime.

Ryan Zaniewski opened the second-half scoring with a 3-pointer of his own, pulling the Hawks to within four. The teams traded hoops early in the third. Coleman’s drive to the rim for a 3-point play pulled Newtown within a pair at 38-36 with 3:34 left in the stanza. That is as close as the Hawks would get the rest of the way.

Hall finished the third on a 7-0 run for a 45-36 advantage, then hit a 3 to open the fourth-quarter scoring and cap a 10-0 run to go up a dozen points on the scoreboard. The Hawks got within nine but no closer as the Titans drained five shots from downtown in the final period. Colby Hurlock made five 3s in the game and Anthony McKeown hit both of his long-range shots in the fourth as part of his 19-point effort.

Coleman hit a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter before cooling off from long distance; Coleman finished with 24 points. Declan Regan scored 11, Emmett Regan logged four, and all other scorers were limited to two or three points.

Declan Regan, Zaniewski, and Asher Williams each came away with two steals. Declan Regan and Bradley both had six rebounds.

Seniors who stepped up and helped lead the Hawks during this winning transition year are Zaniewski, Andrew Grenier, Aidan Licata, Declan Regan, Barber, and Coleman. The group will leave significant shoes to fill as Murphy and company look to build off this season’s winning ways.

The Nighthawks accomplished their goals of qualifying for both the conference and state tourneys but were hoping to march deeper into both brackets. Even so, Newtown’s coach said it was an enjoyable winter for the coaching staff.

“Didn’t want it to end this way,” Murphy said. “I hope the kids enjoyed the experience as much as we did.”

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