The second game of the year, and first in 11 days, was a good one for a mostly-inexperienced Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team. The Nighthawks pulled away in the second half to defeat visiting Northwestern Regional High of Winsted 59-46, on December 27, for their first triumph of the campaign.

Newtown fell behind 9-0 but fought back to seize a 25-23 halftime lead. Northwestern hit three consecutive 3-pointers to open the second-half scoring and take a 32-25 lead, but the Nighthawks finished the third quarter on a 22-4 run to take a 47-36 advantage into the fourth and never looked back.

“The kids believed in one another, they stayed together, they made something out of tonight and they learned,” Newtown Coach Tim Tallcouch said. “When they were down they came back. When we were up we sustained it.”

Newtown’s third-quarter turnaround began with an Eli Williams basket in close and featured a Williams offensive rebound which led to a Saahil Ray 3-pointer that got NHS within a point at 32-31. After a Northwestern hoop, Connor Hintze set up Ben Barber for a basket to put the Hawks within just a point again. Makai Coleman’s straightaway shot from beyond the arc gave Newtown a 36-34 lead.

Declan Regan set up Ray in transition, Regan’s offensive rebound and putback, and a 3-point play the old fashioned way when Coleman scored and added a foul shot, extended the lead to 43-34. A block by Williams set up Coleman for a fast-break basket and Coleman added a couple of foul shots to close out the third-quarter scoring.

Newtown upped its lead to 57-38 by the mid-point of the fourth and coasted home with the win.

Coleman led the way with 28 points, ten of which came in the third quarter, along with a trio of assists. Regan dropped in 14, Ray had eight, and Williams added six.

Williams had six rebounds, four blocks, and four steals. Regan logged a trio of assists to go along with three steals. Hintze had a pair of Newtown’s 14 takeaways, as well as a couple of assists and a shot block.

The lengthy break in game action came about because of coronavirus protocol postponing an early-season matchup with Darien that was rescheduled for December 28; check the January 6 edition of The Bee for coverage.

“To me, it was almost like opening night again and opening night can be sloppy,” said Tallcouch, whose team fell behind by double digits in the first quarter on the way to an 82-60 loss to Wilton on December 16.

Against Northwestern, Newtown fell behind but Tallcouch called two early timeouts and, after the second one, switched Newtown from man-to-man defense to a 1-3-1 zone that changed the face of the game.

“I wasn’t going to let this game get away from us,” Tallcouch said. “Nobody was pointing fingers. They knew they could get it done and they went out and proved it.”

Newtown’s coach noted that only Coleman has substantial varsity experience and that his lineup overall needs to learn to start games and win games. These Hawks have put the check mark in the win column box, something Tallcouch is optimistic the Hawks will do again and again as the season unfolds.

The Hawks return home Tuesday, January 3, when Staples of Westport visits at 7 pm.

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