By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT — A good recipe for overcoming a big deficit is a generous dose of 3-point shooting, and the Staples High boys basketball team certainly was cooking from long range Tuesday night.

The Wreckers made 15 shots from beyond the 3-point arc en route to a 76-68 win over visiting Wilton. 

The game was a battle of FCIAC Tournament hopefuls looking to bolster positioning. Both teams stand at 8-4 overall with the Wreckers holding an edge in conference play at 5-3 versus Wilton’s 4-4 mark. Eight games remain in the regular season.

Staples fell behind by 13 points in the first half, but got to within 34-29 at the break as Nick Sikorski beat the buzzer with one of his seven shots from downtown.

Wilton re-gained a double-digit lead, going up 41-31 before the mid-point of the third quarter. Staples fell behind by as many as 11 in the third and was within eight heading to the fourth courtesy of, what else but a late-stanza 3-pointer as Adam Udell connected from distance. It was 52-44 after three.

The Wreckers at one point had trailed 52-39, but reeled off 11 straight to begin the final stanza capping an impressive 16-0 run.

Dhilan Lowman nailed one of his five from beyond the arc to give the Wreckers a 55-52 lead, their first advantage since early in the contest. The go-ahead hoop came less than two minutes into the fourth.

Sam Clachko drew a charge against Wilton to help Staples maintain the lead temporarily. The Warriors eventually evened things at 57 apiece, but Lowman answered a Warrior 3-pointer with another one of his own for a 60-57 edge with 3:30 left.

Udell finished a fast break and extended the lead to five with just over three minutes to play.

Wilton hung around, but a pair of Sikorski 3-pointers seconds apart pushed the advantage to 68-62 with 1:26 left.

The Warriors were down 70-64 inside the final minute, but scored four quick points thanks in part to a Staples turnover on an inbound play. Staples held a precarious 70-68 edge with 42 seconds left, but sealed things at the charity stripe with Sikorski, Clachko and Mason Tobias making clutch free throws in the waning seconds.

Lowman had a late-game block and Sikorski a key defensive rebound to help the Wreckers thwart a late Warrior comeback attempt.

Staples Coach David Goldshore said he was most proud of Tuesday’s victory over any others in his first two seasons leading the Wreckers.

“We grinded and stayed with our plan,” said Goldshore, adding that 3-point shooting and strong half-court defense keyed this victory.

Clachko, the team’s top scorer, the primary focus of Wilton’s defensive attention, was limited to eight points, about 16 below his average. But the sophomore helped set up his teammates who were on fire from behind the arc.

Sikorski finished with 28 points and Lowman scored 15. Nathan Smith and Austin Heyer both added 3-pointers for the Wreckers.

Staples returns to action at 7 p.m. Thursday with a visit to Bridgeport Central. (Game schedules are subject to change; click for the latest CIAC updates.)

Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories in Fairfield County, since the 1990s.