Last season ended with a tremendous run to the Division II State Tournament semifinals and ended with a furious comeback that fell short. Returning members of Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team and their coaches are excited to get back out on the court and — if all goes well — take care of some unfinished business.

“As soon as the Amity game was over, and once we went through our final speeches and goodbyes, it was really ‘can’t wait til next year,’” Newtown Coach Tim Tallcouch said of his team’s outlook following a 48-45 loss to Amity of Woodbridge in the state playoffs.

The Nighthawks are in Division III this year. The bump down is a result of the program’s record over the past three seasons (NHS was 11-9 last year after back-to-back losing record campaigns) as well as boys’ enrollment. Newtown made a surprising run to the state semis being that it was a No. 21 seed. Stingy defense led the team to upset victories over No. 12 Ledyard, No. 5 Pomperaug of Southbury, and No. 13 Wilton (in overtime) before falling to ninth-seeded Amity.

“I think we’re a battle-tested team. But can we become the solid defensive team that we were at the end of last season?” wonders Tallcouch, whose squad held Wilton to 54 points — Wilton had scored fewer points only three times during the regular slate, and this matchup was in OT — and limited an Amity team that had scored under 50 just twice in the regular season to just 48.

Defense is the biggest question mark for the Nighthawks following the graduation of Evan Eggleston and Nick Weiland, Tallcouch said. Those players, along with fellow graduate Ryan Escoda, all leave shoes to fill, but Tallcouch likes what he sees early on this winter.

With some NHS cagers also football team members joining late due to their run to the state playoff semifinals, the Nighthawks were left with just over a week at full roster strength to gear up for the season opener, Thursday, December 13, when Torrington visits at 7 pm.

Last year, the Hawks got into the South-West Conference tourney as the eighth seed and were beaten by top-seeded and eventual champion Notre Dame-Fairfield in the quarterfinals before making their run deep into states.

Notre Dame lost a lot to graduation, and the consensus among the NHS coaches is that the door is wide open for many teams to become the first not called Notre Dame (champs each of the last three years) to win it all since Bunnell of Stratford ended a three-year run at the top of its own back in 2015.

“I think it’s going to be very competitive. I think there’s going to be a lot of movement,” said Assistant Coach Bob Gendreau, referring to likely frequent changes in the standings.

“On any given night, anybody can beat anybody. I think six, seven, and eight is going to come down to the end like it does every year,” Tallcouch said of those final qualifiers clinching spots in the conference tourney.

“The goal this year is to actively pursue SWC and state titles,” Tallcouch said.

That doesn’t make Newtown a favorite, Tallcoach notes, but he considers the Hawks to be every bit as capable as the next team.

“We are not the hunter this year. We are being hunted, so we need to bring it every single night,” Tallcouch added.

The SWC fun does not get into full swing until a bunch of nonconference clashes are played out. Newtown will have a rematch with Ledyard on Saturday, December 15, a home tilt at 2 pm. The Hawks visit Capital Prep in Hartford on December 21 for a 7 pm tip. They participate in the Staples of Westport Holiday Tournament, December 27 and 29, and will face SWC foe Pomperaug in a nonconference clash then take on either Staples or Westhill of Stamford (times of both tourney games to be determined).

After a January 2 home game with Daniel Hand of Madison at 6:15 pm, the Hawk jump into conference play with a January visit to Pomperaug, starting at 7 pm. The only other non-SWC matchup on the slate is a February 16 home game (the second-to-last contest of the regular season) with Crosby of Waterbury — a team NHS upset in the state playoffs a handful of years ago — at 3:30 pm. The month-and-a-half leading up to that stands to be full of competitive SWC play.

The Nighthawks are led by captains Robert DiSibio (forward/guard), Todd Petersen (center/forward/guard; “He’s a jack of all trades,” Tallcouch points out), and Shea Talbot (forward).

Guard Riley Ward stands to handle the ball the most and direct the offense. Other key players are Tucker Garrity, Max Bloomquist, Jack Petersen, Jack Kuligowski, Preston Bliss-Martinez, and Jack Mulligan, the latter of whom is a welcomed addition having been injured a season ago.

“I think our size is an advantage,” said Tallcouch, whose roster boasts 6-foot-6 Todd Petersen, and 6-foot-5 DiSibio, as well as several other 6-foot-plus players.

Newtown will not necessarily have a go-to style of play on offense or defense.

“It’s going to depend on the team,” said Gendreau, referring to opponents.

“I think you have to be good at all facets of the game,” Tallcouch added.

The Nighthawks are hoping to be strong enough in all areas such that they extend the season deep into March.

“We need to embrace and cherish these next three-plus months together and begin this climb to what we hope is a super special season for us,” Tallcouch said.