Newtown Hoops Highlights: 4th Grade Mavericks

The Mavericks squared off against local teams in last week's end of season tourney, hosted by the . Here's a roundup of how they did:

Opening Round

Blue Mavs 33, Weston 15
The Blue Mavs scored an opening round win over Weston, 33-15. Joey Rios led the offense with 12 points. Keenan Murphy added 8 and Nick Kalra tossed in 4. Drew Mitchell and Josh Taylor were strong on the offensive boards, each connecting for a bucket off rebounds. Liam Murphy continually found the open shots for the Blue Mavs shooters. Zak Droukas and Dillon Robinson kept the pressure on the Weston guards, drawing key fouls and then connecting from the line.

White Mavs 28, Easton 22
The White Mavs held off Easton 28-22 to advance to stay in the winners bracket. Jack Kuligowski and Kyle Sullivan ran the offense with strong play at the point. Jack Mulligan and Kyle Good combined for 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jack Lydon and Patrick Oberstadt were tough on the glass while Max Wrage and Charlie Eppers hit key buckets down the stretch. Sammy Eppers brought his typical tough defense and had 4 assists.

Second Round

Blue Mavs 27, Danbury 24
The Blue Mavs grabbed an early lead that they held to beat Danbury, 27-24. Joey Rios led the Blue Mavs offense with 13 points, while Nick Kalra added 7. Josh Taylor forced 4 Danbury turnovers and was strong on the defensive boards alongside Keenan Murphy, who together kept the tough Danbury squad from scoring underneath. Zak Droukas and Liam Murphy kept the pressure on the Danbury guards with key steals, while Drew Mitchell and Dillon Robinson moved the ball to create scoring opportunities for the Blue Mavs.

Wilton 31, White Mavs 20
The White Mavs fell to the tough team from Wilton, 31-20. The White Mavs stayed with the talented Wilton team for most of the game with tight defense and strong rebounding. Kyle Sullivan and Kyle Good combined for 12 points while Jack Mulligan chipped in with 7. Jack Lydon and Max Wrage hit key buckets while Patrick Oberstadt and Sammy eppers provided suffocating defense. Charlie Eppers provided a spark off the bench and Jack Kuligowski hit a long 3-pointer to get the White Mavs close before Wilton pulled away at the end.

Third Round 

Wilton 32, Blue Mavs 18
In the championship game of the March Mayhem tournament, the Blue Mavs fell to Wilton, 32-18. Nick Kalra, Joey Rios and Josh Taylor led the Blue Mavs defense with a combined 15 rebounds. Rios led the Blue Mavs offense with 9 points. Taylor connected for another 5, including a 3-pointer, Kalra tossed in 4, and Zak Droukas and Drew Mitchell each added 2. Kieran Coffey, Liam Murphy and Dillon Robinson covered the floor, keeping the pressure on the Wilton guards and holding them to mere a 2 point lead at the half. The Blue Mavs wrapped the season with a 14-11 record.

White Mavs 16, New Fairfield 10
In the season finale, the White Mavs found themselves undermanned as 3 usual starters were not available for the game. With only 6 players, the White Mavs were determined to finish out the season on a high note. Kyle Sullivan ran the offense at the point while Jack Lydon was all over the floor. Max Wrage had the hot hand from the outside while Sammy Eppers provided smothering defense. Patrick Oberstadt played 35 out of the 40 minutes and was a monster on the boards all night. With the game tied with less than two minutes remaining, Charlie Eppers stepped to the line and calmly sank two free throws to put the White Mavs ahead, 12-10. Max Wrage and Sammy Eppers added buckets to seal the win. The victory moved the White Mavs record to 20-7 on the year.