WESTPORT – One just knew it would come down to Darien and Newtown.

The top two seeds in the Fairfield County Basketball League seventh-grade B Division playoffs tangled twice during the regular season, splitting those games, and it seemed inevitable that the teams would meet again in the tournament championship.

“(Darien is) a great interior passing team and very structured offensively,” said Newtown head coach Bill Kneisel, “and we knew we had to play very disciplined, half-court offense and we had to take away their inside game.”

The game plan worked to a T.

Josh Engler canned 18 points and dragged down 10 rebounds, Matt Datin scored 14 points and pulled down 15 rebounds, and Ishan Tatake drained three big three-point baskets to lead Newtown to a 51-44 win last week for the team’s second consecutive FCBL championship.

“Going back-to-back is a big thing with these kids,” said coach Kneisel, who has led the squad to a 57-13 record over the past two years … 32-4 this year alone.

The locals defeated Westport (55-40) in the first round of the tournament and then slipped past Bethel (58-56) in the second round to advance to the finals. Meanwhile, Darien slipped past New Fairfield (51-49) in the opening round before defeating New Milford (56-44) to advance to the finals.

Darien was 17-6 heading into the FCBL final and though that record wasn’t as gaudy as Newtown’s 31-4 mark, coach Kneisel said, “Darien is good team, well-coached, and they practice and awful lot. But our kids executed our game plan very well.”

After preparing for Darien’s stifling man-to-man defense, Newtown came out and ran a two-man isolation game with Engler at the point and Datin in the middle and it worked so well that Darien soon abandoned the man-to-man.

Newtown crafted a 20-11 first half lead before Darien dropped in three consecutive three-pointers and the locals went into the break nursing a 24-20 lead. At the start of the second half, Darien canned another trey to narrow the gap to one and even though Tatake answered with a three of his own, Darien came back with another three – its fifth of the game – to trim the Newtown lead to 28-26.

That forced coach Kneisel to re-assess the plan.

“We called time right there,” he said, “and decided to go man-to-man the rest of the way. It was mano-a-mano and let the best team win.”

The change was made and it did the trick as Newtown went on a 14-3 run to close out the third period with a 42-29 lead. In the fourth, the locals stretched the lead out to 47-32 and then coasted home from there as Darien hit a couple desperation shots at the end to pull to within seven.

“Josh and Matt carried the team,” said coach Kneisel. “They both have wonderful talent and size, but what brings it all together is the mental aspect.”

Even though Newtown was like a three-headed monster (Engler, Datin and Tatake combined for 33 points in the win over Westport, 43 points in the win over Bethel and 41 points in the win over Darien), the locals benefited from the efforts of guys like Kyle Vignone (“his athleticism makes him a defensive threat,” said coach Kneisel), Grant Braun (“he did a great job denying Darien the ball off the elbow”), Rob Frangione (“he was great off the bench and gave us some key assists and big free throws”), Sean Maher, Robbie Carroll, Lewis Thompson, Jack Kneisel, Max Nacewicz and Tom Coscia.

“Throughout the year everyone played,” said coach Kneisel, “and all contributed valuable minutes throughout the year. So when we got to the playoffs they were prepared.”

Prepared, that is, to win their 57th game in two years and their second straight FCBL championship.

It has been quite a run and coach Kneisel knows he couldn’t have led the team without the aid of assistant coaches Rob Frangione and Jim Braun and the stat guys Woody Thompson and Jay Maher.

But the Newtown boys were not the only team to bring home an FCBL title – the girls’ seventh-grade travel team captured its own, a C Division title, with a 29-27 win over Ridgefield-St. Mary’s. Maggie Donahue scored nine points and Colleen Cunningham added seven.

Strong man-to-man, full court defense sparked a 16-point third quarter for the ‘Hawks and propelled them to the title. Seven different players scored. Alex Grant made three critical fourth-quarter free throws as Taylor Benson, Sam Whitley, KellyAnne Brophy and Christie Iorfino all added to the well-balanced offensive attack. Marilyn LaCroce was spectacular on defense.

The locals advanced to the finals with a 24-20 win over Redding in the semis. The ‘Hawks held Redding to just seven second-half points.

Cunningham scored six of her game high 10 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead basket in the final minute. Donohue and Brophy scored five points each as Grant and Chelsea Gray contributed key baskets. Cunningham also grabbed 15 rebounds while Maggie and Taylor Benson combined for another 15 rebounds. Whitley forced some key turnovers on defense and Meghan Loose made some great defensive stops.

While the two seventh-grade teams were earning their respective titles, the in-house divisions engaged in their tournaments and here are the rest of the results –

TRAVEL

Girls 5th

Darien 22, Newtown Attack 17 – In a thrilling end to a great season, the Newtown Attack fifth grade girls basketball team lost a tough game to the eventual champions of Darien. Bridget Power, Erin Kenning and Claire Miles dropped in buckets with multiple assists by Meaghan Harkins and Kristiana Engler. Catie Yakush and Julia Trudell had five rebounds each while Samantha Steimle and Stephanie Roman had three steals each on defense.

IN-HOUSE

Junior Boys

Rockets 39, Hawkeyes 34 – Ben Mahony scored 11 points and Josh Jowdy added eight more to lead the Rockets to the narrow win over the Hawkeyes. Jamey Bowers had 10 rebounds and John Fellin was strong on D.

Bullets 59, Saints 48 – Sam Kerr poured in 23 points and Matt Baier added 19 to lead the Bullets to the win. Travis LeBlanc and Ryan Daly played well. For the Saints, Robbie Phillips tossed in 13 points and Tom Capozziello added 12 more in the losing effort. Austin Cirella grabbed eight rebounds.

Red Devils 41, Wildcats 40 – Jeff DiNicola and Oliver Powers canned eight points apiece as the Red Devils trimmed the Wildcats. For the ‘Cats, Rockwell Anyoha scored 15 points while John Fracker added 13. Brad Biscoe dished off four assists while Danny Clement, Brian Reed and Brandon Body played well.

Deamon Deakins 52, Huskies 37 – Tory Deakin dropped in 19 points and CJ Portolese added 12. Sean Devaney grabbed 11 rebounds while Brian Kuruc dished off six assists and Austin Jones made six steals. For the Huskies, Mikey Tobin tossed in nine points while Chris Winters and Kyle O’Connor had strong performances.

The tip-off of the Junior Boys championship game will be Saturday, March 18, at 10:30 am, at Reed Intermediate School.

Junior Girls

Pacers 42, Gaels 40 – Brittany Wiberg poured in 18 points and Katie Pessin added nine to lead the Pacers to the narrow win. Sam Dinnan grabbed nine rebounds while Ashley Kuligowski, Taylor Johnson and Maggie Korth all had solid floor games. For the Gaels, Meredith LaPerch canned 22 points and Marissa Cucco added six more.

Huskies 28, Kids On The Court 9 – Lisa Vendel tossed in 10 points while Victoria Picerno and Stephanie Suhoza combined for nine more to lead the Huskies past the Kids. Breanne Lubinsky and Scarlett O’Sullivan had strong all-around games. For the Kids, Ali Pliszka scored six points and Bianca LeBlanc added three. Katie Lago anchored a strong second-half effort.

The tip-off of the Junior Girls championship game will be Saturday, March 18, at 12 noon, at Reed Intermediate School.

 

Intermediate Boys

Knicks 37, Huskies 19 – David Lucia tossed in 15 points as the Knicks rolled to the quarterfinal win. Joe Davis, Jimmy Russo and Dom Fedak played well. For the Huskies, Sean Burson scored eight points and Jack McManus added six as Max Lopez, Peter Ovendorf and Ryan Crowell had solid floor games.

Bears 46, Blazing Warriors 34 – Kevin Phillips scored 20 points and Greg Frattaroli grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Bears past the Warriors. Alex Roche and Griffin Paynter played well. For the Warriors, Colin Cooper scored 15 points while Eric Song, Luke Shearin and Michael Daubert had fine performances.

Bullets 37, Regulators 29 – Michael Lengel scored 11 points and Kevin Shpunt contributed eight to lead the Bullets to the quarterfinal win. Colin Moller, Patrick Zingaro and Robbie Uhde played well. For the Regulators, Brendan Cooper canned 13 points as Bubba LeBlanc, Mike Lord and Matt Vavrek had strong floor games.

Hurricanes 39, Grizzlies 36 – Chris Tenney scored 15 points and Matt McGoldrick added nine to lead the Hurricanes past the Grizzlies. Dean Demers, Gabe Ruiz and Christian Sayegh performed well. For the Grizzlies, Jake Enriquez canned 14 points and Justin DeVellis added 11 while Kory Kling, Josh Villa and Pat Capozziello all played well.

Earlier in the playoffs –

Bears 31, Rockets 24 – Greg Frattarolli scored 16 points to power the Bears. Kevin Phillips, Devin DiNicola and Tom Bauer played well. For the Rockets, John Lebinski and Luke Sherwood combined for nine points while Harrison Snellback, Troy Larsen and Chris Devaney played well.

Grizzlies 30, Panthers 28 – Jake Enriquez canned 14 points as the Grizzlies de-clawed the Panthers. Pat Capozziello, Justin DeVellis and Josh Villa played well. For the Panthers, Keegan Lombard popped in 12 points while Eric Fiore, Austin Ekstrom and Daniel Bethke had solid games.

Hurricanes 38, Thunder 23 – Matt McGoldrick scored eight points as the Hurricanes cruised to the win. Christian Sayegh, Ryan Swain and Chris Tenney played well. For the Thunder, Ryan Dunnigan canned nine points while Ben Stoller, JP Kitzmiller and Kyle Hagerman had good floor games.

Regulators 36, Nighthawks 27 – Mike Lord poured in 18 points and Brendan Cooper tossed in nine to lead the Regulators past the Nighthawks. Bubba LeBlanc and Matt Vavrek played well. For the ‘Hawks, Sean Ross knocked down 20 points as Trevor Carey, Nick Dickinson and Christian Mather had strong efforts.

Blazing Warriors 39, Blue Knights 34 – Colin Cooper scored 18 points to lead the Warriors to the narrow win. Matt Sharpe, Patrick Mullins and Mike Scharfenberg played well. For the Knights, Stephen Conway and Jon Hull canned 10 points apiece while Mike Senf and Pat Sullivan played well.

Bullets 26, Raptors 20 – Myles Lobuglio popped in eight points as the Bullets clipped the Raptors. Kevin Shpunt, Sam Langdon and Christian Barrett played well. For the Raptors, Austin Hubbert scored four points while Harrison Buzzi, Nick Sajovic and Sean Decker had solid performances.

Knicks 46, Vipers 26 – Jim Russo popped in eight points to lead the Knicks to the win. Matt Rahtelli, David Lucia and Brendan Callery played well. For the Vipers, Mac Morlock had eight points and Jack Zahansky played well

Huskies 29, Spurs 28 – Sean Burson scored 10 points and Jack McManus chipped in eight more as the Huskies tripped up the Spurs. Max Lopez, Peter Ovendorf and Ryan Crowell all played well. For the Spurs, Brandon Marks scored 13 points while Phillip Reynolds, KC Condon and Scott Keating played well.

The tip-off of the Intermediate Boys championship game will be Saturday, March 18, at 9 am, at Reed Intermediate School.

Bantam Boys

Knicks 22, Cavaliers 16 – Matt Wood popped in eight points and Jacob Moore, Grant Larnerd and Marcinek all played well to lead the Knicks. For the Cavs, Patrick Afriyie scored six points as Austin Babyak, Jimmy Leidlein and Jack Lago had strong performances.

Nighthawks 44, Blue Devils 33 – Matt Wood and Ty Runkle canned 10 points apiece to power the Nighthawks. Chase Wurtz, Kyle Gordon and Daniel Spillane played well. For the Devils, Chris George, Garrison Buzzanca and Julian Dunn had nice floor games.

Yellowjackets 23, Runnin’ Raiders 19 – Troy Frangione and Shay DeMarche combined for 17 points to power the Yellowjackets. Sam Boland and Jeff Peterson played well. For the Raiders, Drew Tarantino canned 18 points while Tim Kelly had a solid floor game.

Celtics 19, Huskies 18 – Michael Davis dropping in 14 points as the Celtics edged the Huskies. Jonah Muniz, Adam Harrison and Thomas Floros played well. For the Huskies, Jim Parker scored 12 points while Stephen Grasso and Stephen Anderau played well

Midget Girls

Hyper Hippos versus Yellowjackets – Casey Harkins, Kate Fallon, Abby Kohler and Madison Pirone powered the Hippos while Michaela Jackman, Victoria Kroha, Emily Benson and Meagan Powers led the ‘Jackets.

Blasting Blueberries versus Shooting Stars – Katie Laaksonen, Lauren Wilcox, Rachel Williams and Taylor Lafave played well for the Blueberries as Emily Turco, Madeline Strokis, Madison Duffy and Maddie Bridges had strong floor games for the Stars.

Red Tigers versus Orange Tigers – Emma DeFlumeri, Amy McGurk, Kelly Merrick and Maddie Peck played well for the Tigers while Ashley Marks, Shanna Errico, Hanna Bartlett and Jillian Gibney played well for the Tigers.