By Steve Bigham

“Newtown High School may be the best 0-3 boys’ basketball team in the state.”

That’s what everyone was saying following the Nighthawks’ thrilling performance Wednesday night at the NHS gymnasium. Even though Newtown lost, 72-66, to 4th-ranked Kolbe Cathedral of Bridgeport, some were calling it the best high school game they’ve seen here in town in recent memory.

The Nighthawks, playing their home opener, held the lead for most of the second half and appeared on their way to a huge upset win. But a handful of miscues, some great plays by Kolbe, and a half dozen questionable calls by the officials made the difference down the stretch.

It was the same story last week when Newtown almost shocked powerhouse Warren Harding in Bridgeport. Once again, Newtown held the advantage for much of the game before succumbing, 73-67. And then, at Bloomfield Saturday afternoon, Newtown played well enough to win, only to fall, 68-60.

“We played three of the top programs in the state and were right in the game in each of them,” said a disappointed but optimistic second-year Newtown coach John Quinn. “Nobody can tell me that we’re not as good as Kolbe, Harding and Bloomfield.”

Against Kolbe, John Fiscella and the rest of Newtown’s impressive starting five put on a show for the crowd of 700. Fiscella’s three-point shot with 3:50 to go in the fourth quarter gave his team a 66-58 lead. Newtown’s fine all-around play had it on the brink of what would have been a huge upset.

But that’s when Kolbe’s Kevin Jeffreys took over and Newtown would go scoreless the rest of the way. The visitors finished the game on a 14-0 run. Jeffreys, who is being recruited by several Division I schools, led the way with 34 points.

Newtown’s faithful left disappointed, but feeling like their team may be on to something good this season. Fiscella, a junior, scored a team-high 23 points and added numerous key passes and rebounds. Courtney Steele added 15 points and came up huge in the paint against some big defenders. His length-of-the-court driving layup late in the third quarter sent the crowd into a frenzy and gave NHS a six-point lead.

Jason Godoy (12 points) canned two big threes and grabbed several rebounds, while guards Bret McEvoy and Rich Engel broke the Kolbe pressure and always managed to find an open teammate for an easy score.

Newtown sent a message loud and clear toward the end of the first half when it scored eight straight points in 36 seconds to turn a six-point deficit into a 30-28 halftime lead. Fiscella keyed the run with a basket, two assists and a rebound, which helped start the fast break. John Wesley scored four points during the run.

Newtown’s effort impressed seventh-year Kolbe coach John Pfolh.

“We had not seen Newtown play, but when I saw their score against Harding I knew it was going to be a nightmare. And it was. They are a very disciplined team and they’ll be in the thick of things down the stretch,” Pfohl noted.

Newtown has now shown on three-straight nights that it can compete with anyone. The wins will come in time. One fan predicted 15 straight.

“I don’t know about that, but this is a good team we have a really good element here,” Quinn said.

Newtown’s junior varsity squad also lost a heartbreaker to Kolbe, 58-55 despite holding a sizable lead late in the game.

A Loss To Harding

Newtown held a five-point lead midway through the fourth quarter before things went awry. It was a foreshadowing of how things would go the rest of the week – three tough losses, However, it may have also been a foreshadowing for the rest of the season, and, if that’s the case, Newtown could be on its way to something special.

Godoy finished the Harding game with 25 points, while Steele added 15 and Engel tossed in eight. Jeff Wolcott buried two big three pointers in the loss.

“We had them. We absolutely had them,” said Quinn, who described his bunch as being very mellow, but always up to the challenge once they step onto the court.

McEvoy, in his first-ever varsity appearance, dribbled around the Harding defenders with ease and had his coach singing his praises. It was a hostile environment down in Bridgeport that night and McEvoy played like he was playing pickup in his driveway.

Newtown last faced Harding in the CIAC tournament way back in 1983 when former New York Knicks forward Charles Smith was the state’s top player. The final score that night? Harding 94, Newtown 44.

Against Bloomfield, the Nighthawks got a big late-game performance from Wesley and 17 points from Godoy (18 points per game) in another game that could have gone either way. Fiscella (13 ppg) added 14 and Engel 11.

Newtown led by as many as 13 points in the first half.

 

NEWTOWN (66): Rich Engel 3 0-0 6, Courtney Steele 7 1-3 15, Jason Godoy 5 0-0 12, John Fiscella 7 7-8 23, Bret McEvoy 1 2-2 4, Josh Dittmar 1 0-0 2, John Wesley 2 0-0 4. TOTALS: 26 10-13-66.

KOLBE (72): Kevin Jeffreys 15 2-4 34, John Bajda 3 0-1 9, Jeff Gene 3 1-1 7, Vandy Moore 2 1-2 5, Chuck Fequijere 2 0-1 4, Daryl Gardner 1 1-2 3, Mike Atkins 4 0-0 8, Marques Brown 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 31 5-11 72.

Kolbe        6  22  21  23 - 72

Newtown  14  16  25  11 - 66

3-Pointers: Godoy (N) 2, Fiscella (N) 2, Bajda (K) 3, Jeffreys (K) 2.

 

NEWTOWN (67): Rich Engel 3 1-1 8, Courtney Steele 6 3-4 15, Jason Godoy 11 0-0 25, John Fiscella 1 5-8 7, Bret McEvoy 1 2-2 5, Josh Dittmar 0 1-2 1, John Wesley 0 0-0 0, Jeff Wolcott 2 0-0 6, Andrew Smith 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 24 12-17-67.

HARDING (73): Dan Baez 7 2-4 16, Josh Bell 4 0-0 9, Clemente Lovelace 1 0-0 2, Jayson Holyfield 3 0-0 6, John Sullivan 1 0-0 2, Charles Bentley 0 0-0 0, Antoine Sistrunk 6 2-5 14, Robert Rodgers 0 2-2 2, Dominique Joes 4 0-0 8, Sir Snowden 3 0-2 6, Clarence Harden 4 0-0 8. TOTALS: 33 6-13 73.

 

Newtown  12  20  22  13  -67

Harding   17  23  12  21 - 73

3-Pointers: Godoy (N) 3, Wolcott (N) 2, Engel (N), McEvoy (N), Bell (H).

 

NEWTOWN (60): Rich Engel 4 2-4 11, Courtney Steele 1 4-8 6, Jason Godoy 5 3-4 17, John Fiscella  3 8-12 15, Bret McEvoy 0 2-2 2, Josh Dittmar 1 0-0 3, John Wesley 2 2-2 6, Jeff Wolcott 0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 16 22-32-60.

BLOOMFIELD: (68): Anderson 1 1-4 3, Jarrett 5 4-5 14, Jones 5 4-8 14, Reid 3 0-0 6, Stewart 6 3-4 16, Warren 3 2-2 8. TOTALS: 23 14-23 68.

3-Pointers: Godoy (N) 4, Fiscella (N), Engel (N), Dittmar (N), Stewart (B).