The Villa Restaurant took the floor May 11 night as 12 point underdogs against Newtown Color Center in the championship game of the Newtown Health & Fitness Club’s men’s basketball league. Newtown Color Center, the top seed, steamrolled its way through the regular season and appeared a sure-bet to capture the title.

But Rich Seman and his determined teammates, seeded third, had other plans and proceeded to pull of one of the biggest upsets in league history. Final score: Villa Restaurant 63, Newtown Color Center 54.

The Villa Restaurant jumped out to a 2-0 lead off the tip and never relinquished the lead. Jason Trachter slashed his way to a game-high 24 points (18 in the first half) and Cody Forte added 22, while Dale Cone pulled down 13 rebounds. On the other side, Chris Nawrocki and league MVP Greg Gallagher scored 33 and 19 points, respectively. However, they were unable to display the kind of dominating performance that had them winning most games in a laugher this season. Nawrocki admitted afterwards that the team simply didn’t have it that night.

Seman, Trachter and Cody Forte all hit big shots late to seal the victory. Bill McNerney also played well for the Villa Restaurant, especially on D.

Newtown Color Center certainly had its gears in motion May 9 when it pounded defending league champion Cayer Chiropractic, 103-73, in the semifinals. Nawrocki led the way with 37 points, while Gallagher added 25. The fifth-seeded chiropractors, who struggled to a 9-9 record, played the entire season without point guard Jim Bowers, who played a key role in last year’s title run. They were led by Steve Bigham’s 37 points and another 26 from Mark Chernoff.

The Villa Restaurant advanced to the championship game with a 64-61 win over second-seeded My Place Restaurant May 4. In that game, Trachter led the way with 16 points, while Seman added 15, and Cone and Forte chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Cayer Chiropractic advanced to the semifinals with a 66-60 win over fourth-seeded Thermatool in the annual 4 vs 5 game. In that game, Cayer rallied for a 12-1 run to end the game. Bigham and Chernoff both had 23 points in the win, while Bob Rogers paced Thermatool with 21.