By Andy Hutchison

The Staples High boys basketball team dropped a pair of hard-fought FCIAC contests on back-to-back nights this week.

The Wreckers fell to visiting Norwalk 78-71 in overtime Thursday, then stumbled 60-57 at Stamford on Friday.

In the Norwalk tilt, Sam Clachko piled up 28 points to go along with nine rebounds and three steals. 

Adam Udell had 16 points, six assists and four rebounds. Mason Tobias logged 13 points, had a trio of assists and grabbed four rebounds. Charlie Bowman had eight points, two assists and four rebounds. Nick Sikorski scored six points and grabbed six rebounds.

Against Stamford, Clachko logged 24 points, Tobias had 17 and Bowman added 10.

Staples visits Darien at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23, and returns home at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26, to take on Greenwich. That will be a special night, “Pink Out!” in support Pink Aid, which helps families battling breast cancer. (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.