By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT — Missing several key players because of injuries, the Staples High boys basketball team may have been short on depth, but the Wreckers were successful from long range in Monday’s season opener.

Staples connected on 13 shots from downtown, accounting for 39 points in a 73-57 win over visiting Newtown.

Sam Clachko scored 28 points, knocking down six 3-pointers along the way, and Adam Udell poured in 24, a dozen of which came on four more from behind the arc.

The Wreckers got scoring contributions from six players in all, with Caleb Smith and Charlie Bowman sidelined.

Staples could not have gotten off to a better start, jumping out to a 15-0 lead and a 26-5 lead through one quarter of play. It was 38-23 at halftime and the lead was never really in jeopardy despite Newtown settling in after the opening stanza.

Mason Tobias scored eight, Nathan Smith had seven (including a 3-pointer), Dhilan Lowman six on a pair of 3-pointers and Nick Sikorski two to round out the scoring.

Newtown whittled a 23-point deficit down to 14 at the mid point of the second quarter. The Wreckers called timeout and proceeded to drain back-to-back 3-pointers to reclaim momentum.

Each time the visitors chipped away at the deficit Staples came up with a big shot or more to sustain a double-digit lead throughout.

“If they’re going to shoot like that we’re going to win a lot of games,” said Staples Coach David Goldshore.

The Staples coach said he anticipates his team’s defense being its identity this winter. An early charge against Newtown standout Makai Coleman (19 points) helped set the tone as the Wreckers held NHS off the scoreboard until the mid point of the first quarter, Goldshore said.

Staples will return to action with holiday-break play against West Haven, at neutral site Immaculate High in Danbury, at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 27.

The next game in Westport is set for Friday, Jan. 5, the FCIAC opener, when Ridgefield and Staples tip off at 7 p.m. (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.