MONROE, CT — With the regular season heading down to the wire, the Masuk High boys basketball team is looking to improve its standing in both the South-West Conference and in the state bracket.
The Panthers carry a 9-9 overall mark into the last two contests. Masuk will be on the road to play New Fairfield Tuesday and Joel Barlow Thursday (Feb. 15) to close out the slate.
Following a big 70-65 win over Stratford, the Panthers found themselves in another tight battle when Newtown came to town on Thursday. In the end, the visitors pulled away for an 84-67 win.
The final score is a deceptive one as the Panthers had a 36-33 halftime edge, trailed 58-54 going to the fourth and were within a point when Malakai Roy sank a 3-pointer to open the fourth-quarter scoring.
Newtown built a double-digit lead by the mid-point of the final period and the Panthers got to within seven with three-plus minutes left, but couldn’t continue to whittle down Newtown’s advantage.
In the end, Ethan Palma had quite a night dropping in 29 points including four 3-pointers he nailed in the first half.
Alex Simoulidis scored 15, draining a pair of third-quarter threes to keep Masuk in the game.
Mitch DeBernardo scored seven, Roy and Oliver Irving each added five and Ben Londono and Colin Francisco each scored three.
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