NEWTOWN — If one player epitomized the Wilton High School boys basketball team on Wednesday night it was Matt Kronenberg.

The junior guard was struggling with turnovers against a more athletic Kolbe Cathedral squad in the championship game of the Hoops for Heroes Holiday Classic at the Hawks’ Nest at Newtown High School.

Instead of getting down and hanging his head, though, Kronenberg kept battling back, scoring 19 points, grabbing eight rebounds and helping fuel a defensive effort that led Wilton to a 69-53 win over the Cougars.

It was Wilton’s second straight Hoops for Heroes title after winning the tournament last winter, as well.

“This was one of our goals,” said Wilton head coach Joel Geriak. “Our three goals are to win the holiday tournament, qualify for states and try to qualify for FCIACs. We pulled out (a first-round win) against Staples and pulled away in the second half to win this one.”

Jack Williams added 21 points, five steals, four assists and three rebounds for the Warriors, who improved to 3-1 with their third straight win. Drew Connolly added 18 points and five assists.

If Kronenberg could brush off his rough night, though, there was no reason why the rest of the Warriors couldn’t do the same.

After jumping out to a 9-0 lead to open game, Wilton was down 29-26 at the half.

After Kronenberg hit a leaner to cut the lead to one, Kolbe went on a 9-1 spurt to take a 38-29 lead with 5:45 to play in the third.

Geriak then decided to mix things up and switched to a 1-3-1 extended zone on defense.

“It gives us energy, to be honest with you,” said Geriak. “We were hoping the 3-2 we were playing would give them fits, but they hit some shots and we didn’t box out and they got up by nine. We went to the 1-3-1, got out in transition and we do well when we run, so it worked.”

An offensive rebound putback by James Maloney (9 points, 11 rebounds) ignited a big Wilton run.

Kronenberg finished a driving lay-up and Connolly sank two foul shots to make it 38-35 in favor of the Cougars.

After Victor Billups scored for Kolbe (40-35), Maloney converted an old-fashioned three-point play to cut the lead to two points.

On Wilton’s next trip down the floor, Williams swished a three-point shot, putting Wilton in the lead at 41-40.

A Connolly lay-in was answered by Kolbe’s Tahj Brown draining a three-pointer, tying he game at 43-all with 2:15 to play in the third.

The Cougars would only scored two more field goals over the final 10:15 of the game while Wilton’s offense continued to roll.

A Williams trifecta off an inbounds play gave Wilton the lead for good.

After Connolly answered Kolbe turnover with a fast-break layup, Williams went to a conventional three-point play to push the lead to 51-43 with 1:39 left in the third.

Two more Cougar miscues turned into a Connolly trey and a Williams layup as Wilton took a 56-43 advantage into the fourth quarter.

“Defensively, it just amped us up and got us going and that got our offense going,” said Williams. “It allows us to run and play our game, which is more of attack. The three (pointer) is a big part of our game, but I wouldn’t say we live and die by it because we attack well, too. It’s just what we do.”

Kronenberg knew he couldn’t let his struggles bring down his team, especially when the Warriors were down nine.

“I had a lot (of turnovers) but you can’t be down the entire game,” he said. “You have to have energy and move on to the next play. If you stay behind, you’re just going to lose. I had to get my head straight. It worked out really well for the team.”

It worked so well that it carried over into the fourth quarter, too.

Kyle Shifrin scored to open the fourth off a feed from Sean Breslin and Kronenberg sank two foul shots.

That capped off a 31-5 run by the Warriors, pushing the lead to as high as 17 points.

Williams and Kronenberg were honored as members of the All-Tournament team, as well.

Wilton has a bye next week and doesn’t play again until Jan. 8 when it hosts Bridgeport Central at the Zeoli Field House.

Kolbe, which slipped to 1-3, was led by Billups’ 19 points while Marvin Francois added 13.