By Kim J. Harmon

Everything changed – virtually – in the blink of an eye.

The Newtown Middle School boys’ basketball team struggled for two quarters to take control of its game against Bethel on Tuesday afternoon and yet right there at the end of the first half – with baskets by Greg Rodden, Bob Lapple and Mike Maher – the Lions seemed to have done just that.

But a dismal start to the second half – with the Tigers racing out on a 12-0 run – took that control right away from the Lions and forced to struggle the rest of the way to regain it. They never did and Bethel earned the 49-42 win.

The Lions were down right from the opening tip, but not by much. After baskets by Dylan Clark and Greg Larnerd, the locals were only facing a three-point deficit. Then they started to rally and went on an 8-2 run to close the period with a 13-10 lead. Clark canned a basket while Danny Smith and Maher added baskets of their own to fuel the run. Erik Dreher and Pete Cochrane chipped in foul shots.

Although the Lions extended their lead to four points in the opening moments of the second quarter on a foul shot by Maher, they did not hit a field goal until late in the period and that allowed Bethel to get back in the game and briefly take the lead. But the Lions – all of a sudden down by two – went on an 8-0 run on two baskets from Lapple and one each from Rodden and Maher to take a 23-17 lead at the break.

And then they cooled off.

The Tigers jumped out of the second half gate with 12 unanswered points (taking advantage of three turnovers) to take a 29-23 lead. The run did not stop until Dreher hit a soft banker late in the third period.

The basket gave the Lions some new life, though. Clark – scoreless since the first quarter – drained  a pair of three-pointers from the left corner to give the Lions a 31-29 lead. A bucket by Larnerd enabled the Lions to hold on to the lead a little longer, but the Tigers canned a bucket at the third quarter buzzer (and a subsequent foul shot) to take a 34-33 lead.

A lead the Tigers would not relinquish.

The Lions did not get closer than three points the rest of the way. Dreher, Lapple, Rodden and Cochrane all tossed in baskets down the stretch. Clark finished with 11 points while Dreher finished with seven. Lapple added six and Maher added five.

The Lions needed a win considering their 61-45 loss to Jockey Hollow before the February break. Clark had nine points in the loss while Rodden had eight, Maher had seven and Lapple had six. Matt Mascolo tossed in a three-pointer.

Lady Lions

A strong game off the glass – that’s what did it.

Morgan Knees (20) and Katie Schmidt (11) combined for 31 rebounds as the Newtown Middle School girls’ basketball team dominated Bethel for a 45-36 win.

The Lady Lions grabbed more than 60 boards on the afternoon. Joanna Barry and Stacy Broughton had seven rebounds apiece and Caitlin O’Handley had six.

The strong game off the glass led to a good offensive effort all around. Katie Condon canned 13 points, Hannah Tenenbaum had 11 and Knees popped in 10. Kelly Tenney, Barry, Broughton and Schmidt combined for 11 points.

The Lady Lions will be at the Jockey Hollow Tournament this week.