Newtown High School Basketball Teams Stay Red Hot

By Kim J. Harmon

With all the brouhaha over Andrew Fiscella and Kelley Haines finally snapping those two Newtown High School basketball all-time scoring records, it was easy to overlook that – overall – it was a something of a disappointing week.

The wrestling team lost four matches, the hockey team lost two games, and the swim team lost one meet.

Well, at least the indoor track and field teams were happy with their respective finishes at the South-West Conference meet last Saturday and at least the basketball teams (combining for six wins and no losses) remained hot as the post-season rapidly approaches.

Read on –

Girls Basketball

Slow and steady wins the race … at least when it comes to toughing out a South-West Conference game in Milford.

The Newtown High School girls’ basketball team might have been a little sluggish out of the gate against Jonathan Law on Tuesday night, but slowly and surely inched out into the lead and then held on for a 51-37 victory.

The Lady Nighthawks were clinging to a four-point lead with just three minutes to go, but went on a 10-0 run (thanks to 8-for-8 shooting from the foul line) to close out the Lady Eagles and improve to 14-3 overall and 11-2 in the SWC.

The ‘Hawks have been on quite a roll since suffering a rough loss to Kolbe Cathedral (the only SWC team still undefeated in the conference) back on January 9. Despite falling into a deep hole in that game, the ‘Hawks rallied and had an opportunity to win, but stumbled down the finish.

“Kolbe is a really good team and took us out of what we wanted to do,” said head coach Tim Salem, “but we have matured and grown a lot since then. It was nice to get a win like this and we’ll see what the next couple of weeks brings us.”

Ashley Larocque led the ‘Hawks with 20 points, scoring 10 in the fourth quarter (going a steady 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the last four minutes of the game). Kelley Haines – who set the all-time scoring record last Saturday in a win over Lauralton Hall (see related story) – was limited to nine points but dished off six assists, made four steals, and grabbed five rebounds. And Stephanie Logan scored 14 points (12 of those in the first half) as the ‘Hawks steadily worked the ball into the low post.

The ‘Hawks were down early, 6-2, but battled back to take a 10-9 lead in the first quarter. The Eagles, though, went on an 8-2 run into the early stages of the second quarter and went ahead as much as five points, 17-12.

Slowly but surely, though, the ‘Hawks eased their way back into the game.

Haines scored six of her nine points in the second quarter, a three-pointer giving the ‘Hawks only their second lead of the game at 22-21. The Eagles took the lead back, but Larocque drained a couple of baskets to give the ‘Hawks the lead for good.

“I think we’re gaining more confidence,” said Haines, “and learning to keep our composure when things get tight.”

In a 53-32 win over Hall last Saturday, Haines canned 22 points with the aid of four three-pointers. Larocque chipped in with 12 points while Logan had six. And in a 65-29 win over Foran last Wednesday, Haines scored 21 points while Larocque and Siobhan Cooper popped in eight points apiece. Jacky Curran and Logan added six points apiece.

The ‘Hawks will host Weston on Friday night (Senior Night) and will close out the regular season on Wednesday, February 18, at Masuk.

Foran                                     29

Newtown                              65

FORAN (29): Walshuk 0 2-4 2, Paladino 1 1-2 3, Paladino 3 0-0 7, Zanghi 3 0-0 6, Holter 1 0-0 2, Carpenter 2 0-0 5, Schmumitz 0 0-0 0, McDonough 1 0-0 2, Blake 0 0-0 0, Watts 0 2-2 2 (TOTALS: 11 5-8 29). NEWTOWN (65): Iwanicki 2 0-0 4, Curran 3 0-0 6, Palermo 0 0-0 0, Logan 3 0-0 6, Larocque 4 0-0 8, King 1 0-0 2, Cooper 4 0-0 8, Haines 8 2-2 21, O’Connor 1 0-0 2, Gaston 0 0-0 0, Foehrenbach 1 0-0 2, Filler 1 0-1 2, Curran 1 0-0 2, Simek 1 0-0 2 (TOTALS: 30 2-3 65).

Three-pointers: Haines (N) 3, Paladino (F), Carpenter (F).

Newtown                              53

Lauralton Hall                    34

NEWTOWN: Iwanicki 1 1-2 3, Curran 2 0-0 4, Logan 3 0-0 6, Larocque 5 2-4 12, Cooper 0 0-2 0, Filler 1 0-0 2, Haines 7 4-4 22, O’Connor 2 0-2 4, Curran 0 0-0 0, Simek 0 0-0 0 (TOTALS: 21 7-14 53). LAURALTON HALL: Dunne 1 0-0 2, Galiani 1 0-0 3, Galiani 6 2-2 15, Kelcos 1 1-2 3, Flaherty 0 1-2 1, McCarthy 1 3-6 5, Britten 1 1-1 3 (TOTALS: 13 8-13 34).

Three-pointers: Haines (N) 4, Galiani (L).

Newtown                              51

Jonathan Law                    37

NEWTOWN (51): Iwanicki 1 2-2 4, J. Curran 0 0-0 0, C. Curran 0 0-0 0, Logan 7 0-2 14, Simek 0 0-0 0, Larocque 7 6-6 20, Cooper 0 0-0 0, Filler 0 0-0 0, Haines 3 2-6 9, O’Connor 1 2-2 4 (TOTALS: 19 12-18 51). LAW (37): Rosa 0 0-2 0, Bloszko 5 0-0 12, Horrocks 3 6-8 12, Reynolds 2 0-0 4, Mozdzer 2 0-0 4, Dulin 2 1-2 5, J. Dulin 0 0-0 0 (TOTALS: 14 7-12 37).

Three-pointers: Haines (N), Bloszko (L) 2.

Hartford Courant

Top 20 Poll

  1. Manchester               14-0

  2. Guilford                     14-1

  3. Hillhouse                   14-1

  4. East Catholic           14-0

  5. Glastonbury              13-1

  6. Norwich Free            12-2

  7. Windsor                     11-2

  8. Kolbe Cathedral      11-2

  9. Masuk                        13-1

10. Brien McMahon       11-2

11. Old Lyme                  15-0

12. Notre Dame              13-2

13. Newtown                 11-3

14. Torrington                 13-1

15. Holy Cross                13-1

16. Cromwell                  14-0

17. Trinity Catholic       12-2

18. Trumbull                   12-3

19. Seymour                    12-2

20. Fairfield                    11-4

Boys’ Basketball

Soft or not, the Newtown High School boys’ basketball team has handled the middle part of its 2003-04 schedule with relative ease. With five wins in a row and eight in their last nine games, the Nighthawks are 12-4 overall, 9-2 in the South-West Conference, and looking good for a high seed.

“We’re just trying to work as hard as we can every day,” said co-captain Dave Anderson, “and get better as a team. We have a strong team with a lot of people who can step up and we’re feeling fairly good about ourselves. But there is a lot of good competition out there.”

Such as Weston, Masuk and Stratford … all coming up in the next 10 days.

“It’s been tough without Marcus (Tracy),” said co-captain Andrew Fiscella, who broke the all-time scoring record last Saturday night (see related story). “But we have a good offense – with (Ron) Shimko hot and Dave down low, we’re playing real well as a team.”

The latest conquests of the ‘Hawks were Brookfield (90-53) last Thursday, Joel Barlow (72-55) last Saturday, and Jonathan Law (79-55) on Tuesday.

In the shellacking of Brookfield, Fiscella scored 28 points, Anderson had 26, and Shimko had 20 as a devastating triumvirate. Fiscella canned six three-pointers, five of those coming in the second quarter alone (and four from virtually the same spot on the floor). Shimko added four treys while Anderson and Anthony Santella chipped in with one apiece.

Newtown and Brookfield combined for 18 three-pointers in the game.

In the win over Joel Barlow, Fiscella, with an outside shot that was failing him, nevertheless scored 30 points (12-of-18 from the free throw line). Anderson added another 20 while Shimko (with a pair of threes) chipped in with seven of his own.

And in the win over Jonathan Law, Fiscella poured in 32 points (11 field goals and 10-of-11 shooting from the foul line) while Anderson had yet another solid night with 18 points. Shimko canned eight points and Josh Rouse, back after ailing with a stomach virus, popped in six points.

The ‘Hawks will travel to Weston on Friday and will return home on Friday, February 20, to take on a tough Masuk team.

Brookfield                            53

Newtown                              90

BROOKFIELD (53): Chan 0 0-2 0, Susco 2 1-2 5, Thompson 2 0-0 6, Schueschner 3 0-1 6, Skelly 2 3-4 8, O’Leary 4 1-2 9, Yusko 2 0-0 6, Mackenzie 3 1-2 5, Deakin 2 2-2 6, McManus 1 0-0 2 (TOTALS: 19 9-16 53). NEWTOWN (90): Manfredonia 0 0-0 0, Fisella 9 4-4 28, McLaughlin 1 0-0 2, Lyddy 0 0-0 0, Santella 1 0-0 3, Shimko 7 2-2 20, John Oliver 3 0-0 6, Quinn 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0, Devellis 0 0-2 0, Anderson 12 1-1 26, Rouse 2 1-5 5 (TOTALS: 35 8-14 90).

Three-pointers: Fiscella (N) 6, Shimko (N) 4, Santella (N), Anderson (N), Thompson (B) 2, Yusko (B) 2, Skelly (B), Mackenzie (B).

Joel Barlow                         55

Newtown                              72

JOEL BARLOW (55): Stevens 5 0-0 10, Kastananas 1 0-0 2, Hamill 4 6-11 14, Kaufman 0 2-2 2, Lisi 1 0-0 3, Muir 0 0-0 0, Trauth 6 6-6 22, Brown 0 2-2 2 (TOTALS: 17 16-21 55). NEWTOWN (72): Manfredonia 1 1-2 3, Fiscella 9 12-18 30, Lyddy 0 0-0 0, McLaughlin 0 0-0 0, Santella 0 0-0 0, Shimko 2 1-2 7, Oliver 1 0-0 2, Quinn 0 2-2 2, Smith 4 0-1 8, Anderson 7 6-9 20 (TOTALS: 24 22-34 72).

Three-pointers: Shimko (N) 2, Trauth (JB) 4, Lisi (JB).

Jonathan Law                    55

Newtown                              79

LAW (55): Maher 3 0-0 6, Turner 6 1-3 14, Davidson 1 0-0 3, Blake 5 0-0 13, Buckman 0 2-2 2, Kalwicz 4 3-4 11, Karney 1 1-2 3, Cook 1 0-0 2, Eisonhower 0 1-2 1 (TOTALS: 21 8-13 55). NEWTOWN (79): Anderson 6 5-6 18, Fiscella 11 10-11 32, Manfredonia 1 0-0 2, Oliver 1 1-2 3, Shimko 3 1-2 8, Rouse 2 2-3 6, Lyddy 0 0-0 0, Quinn 0 0-0 0, Santella 2 0-0 6, McLaughlin 0 0-0 0, Smith 2 0-0 4, Drummond 0 0-0 0 (TOTALS: 27 19-24 79).

Three-pointers: Santella (N) 2, Shimko (N), Blake (L) 3, Davidson (L).

Hockey

With 6:13 left in the third period, Corey Regensburger skated across the slot and fired a low shot inside the left post and all of a sudden the Newtown High School hockey team had some life against the strong Bethel/Brookfield team at the Danbury Ice Arena.

But that life was snuffed out just 17 seconds later … and 21 seconds after that … and then twice more after that.

Oh yeah, what could have been a dramatic turning point for the Nighthawks had the extreme opposite effect. The Regensburger goal (assisted by Blaise and Buzz LaPorta) actually spurred Bethel/Brookfield to score four more times enroute to a 6-1 victory.

With that loss, and a 4-1 loss to Masuk last Wednesday, the ‘Hawks dropped to 5-12-0 overall and 4-6-0 in the South-West Conference.

Bethel/Brookfield (9-5-0 entering the game) peppered the Newtown goal with 20 shots in the first period alone, but sophomore goaltender Peter Oggeri was steadfast and made several strong saves. The ‘Hawks had fewer cracks at the net, but a couple of those were good ones (Blaise LaPorta on a one-on-one and Regensburger on a break down the right wing) that were turned away.

The first Bethel/Brookfield goal came with 1:20 left in the period and the second was scored just 3:06 into the second period to take a 2-0 lead. Jayce Correia notched both of those goals.

The ‘Hawks continued to skate hard, but had trouble finding scoring opportunities. They picked up the pace in the third and with 6:15 left found themselves scrambling frantically to keep a loose puck in the offensive zone. That’s when the LaPortas got a hold of the puck and slipped a pass to Regensburger skating across the slot.

The goal provided a lift for the ‘Hawks, albeit a very, very short one.

Three days before, the ‘Hawks dropped a 4-1 decision to Masuk (a team they had beaten earlier in the season). The only goal came off the stick of Buzz, who was unassisted. It was Buzz’s 20th goal of he 2003-04 campaign.

The ‘Hawks will battled Joel Barlow on Wednesday (an away game at the Danbury Ice Arena) and will battle New Fairfield on Saturday (another away game at the Danbury Ice Arena) and victories there will help the locals in their quest for the South-West Conference playoffs.

NOTE #1 – In a picture last week, it was stated that Scott Gibney of MasterCard International sponsored a recent Newtown High School hockey game for $500, but actually donated $1,000. Mr Gibney has been a regular and generous supporter of the hockey program.

NOTE #2 – Former forward (and now assistant coach) Al Mazur has scored three goals and assisted on 11 others for the Western Connecticut State University men’s hockey team. He has appeared in all 22 games for the 10-9-3 Colonials, who will play Bryant College on Friday, February 13.

Bethel/Brookfield                6

Newtown                                1

GOALS: Newtown – Corey Regensburger; Bethel/Brookfield – Jayce Correia 4, Todd Stites, Dan Campbell. ASSISTS: Newtown – Sean LaPorta, Blaise LaPorta; Bethel/Brookfield – CJ Hessenius 3, Dan Sherman 2, Kevin Spaulding 2, Stites, O’Donovan. SHOTS: Newtown – 25; Bethel/Brookfield – 43. SAVES: Newtown – Peter Oggeri 37; Bethel/Brookfield – Tony Edelman 24.

Wrestling

With the season winding down and the South-West Conference championships looming this weekend, the Newtown High School wrestling team has fall on some hard times, having lost five matches in a row and six of its last seven.

After being pounded by powerhouse New Milford last Wednesday (63-11), the Nighthawks traveled to the New Fairfield Duels on Saturday and were swept by Bethel, Berlin and St. John’s Prep of New York to fall to 13-12 overall, 6-5 in the SWC.

In the loss to New Milford (which was 21-2-1 overall following the match), Dan McIlrath (103) pinned Spiro Stefanatos in 4:54 to gain six points for the ‘Hawks and Alex Read (171) earned a 16-0 technical fall over Tim Sullivan to earn the last five points.

Steve Giacolone (119) had a strong match against Joe Hall, but was bested 4-3. Jeff Bray (130) dueled Peter Stefanatos well, but was dropped 7-1. Brandon Thomas (215) and Dan Kearns (135) also went the distance in their matches, but lost in a technical fall and major decision, respectively.

In the loss to Bethel on Saturday, the ‘Hawks earned 18 points by forfeit – Mike Cash (215), Kim Solheim (103), and Giacolone (119) – then got five more points when Bray (135) earned a 15-0 technical fall over Jeff Wolf and six more points when Edmund Breitling (189) pinned Mike Kostek in 45 seconds.

The ‘Hawks closed the regular season on Wednesday. The SWC championships will be at Bunnell High School in Stratford.

Newtown                              11

New Milford                        63

103 – McIlrath (N) pinned S. Stefanatos (NM) 4:54; 112 – Sherman (NM) pinned Lipnick (N) 0:59; 119 – Hall (NM) dec. Giacolone (N) 4-3; 125 – Tuz (NM) pinned Rambone (N) 1:19; 130 – P. Stefanatos (NM) dec. Bray (N) 7-1; 135 – Pisano (NM) tech. fall Kearns (N) 16-0; 140 – Klein (NM) pinned Sgammato (N) 1:13; 145 – Lee (NM) pinned Bowen (N) 0:57; 152 – Hartmann (NM) pinned Andrews (N) 2:07; 160 – Knight (NM) pinned Perry (N) 3:28; 171 – Read (N) tech. fall Sullivan (NM) 16-0; 189 – Bradshaw (NM) pinned Cash (N) 1:54; 215 – Ruth (NM) major dec. Thomas (N) 11-2; 275 – Farrell (NM) pinned Schierloh (N) 0:40.

Newtown                              29

Bethel                                    49

103 – Solheim (N) by forfeit; 112 – Palermo (B) tech. fall McIlrath (N) 16-0; 119 – Giacolone (N) by forfeit; 125 – Lance (B) pinned Rambone (N) 0:52; 130 – Marcher (B) pinned Kearns (N) 3:22; 135 – Bray (N) tech. fall Wolf (B) 15-0; 140 – Captain (B) pinned Ternary (N) 3:05; 145 – Ivan (B) pinned Sgammato (N) 0:34; 152 – Godspeed (B) pinned Andrews (N) 1:02; 160 – Wax (B) dec. Sky Perry (N) 9-3; 171 – Ford (B) tech. fall Read (N) 15-0; 189 – Breitling (N) pinned Kostek (B) 0:45; 215 – Cash (N) by forfeit; 275 – Olmstead (B) pinned Thomas (N) 1:21.

Swimming

With the just two teams left on the dual meet schedule and the championship meet coming up, the Newtown High School swim team (4-4 overall) is finding out that a fight for second or third in the South-West Conference is going to be a tough one.

The common belief is that Brookfield High School will easily defend its 2002-03 championship, so that leaves second, third and fourth places for Pampering, New Fairfield and Newtown to battle over on Friday, March 5, at Weston.

The Nighthawks lost to Pampering back on January 6 and just lost to New Fairfield on Tuesday.

In the loss to New Fairfield, CJ Maurer (224 points), Steve Truitt (191) and Bryan Lacouture (172) continued to shine on the diving board, going first, second and fourth.

Zach Moliver went 2:19 in his 200 individual medley and added a 1:01.9 second-place finish in the 100 backstroke.

Chris Jacob, meanwhile, swam a 24.7 in the 50 freestyle, good for first. Andrew Heller swam a 2:16 in his 200 individual medley, grabbing a second-place finish.

While PJ O’Dell qualified for the states with a 2:15 in the 200 freestyle, Jake Maher did a strong 1:09 in the 100 breaststroke and Scott Whalley did a 6:04 in the 500 freestyle.

The 200 medley relay of Moliver, Jake Maher, Heller and Jacob swam a 1:52.1 and took second place, as well.

The ‘Hawks squared off against Weston on Thursday (after press time) and – following school vacation next week – will host Foran on Tuesday, February 24, in what will mark Senior Night.