The net needed some exercise. Needed to ripple. Needed to touch the ball. It had hung limply during the first half, ruffled only sporadically by the caress of a ball sinking through, so it needed some additional action.
Shane Sheehan provided it.
Sheehan ripped off 10 points in the first four minutes of the third quarter, a flurry of scoring that gave Westfield (13-6, 4-6 UCC Watchung) a lead it would never relinquish in a 46–34 home win Wednesday over East Orange (10-9, 4-7 SEC American). Sheehan did it on a putback, a 3-pointer, a jumper from the elbow and a 3-point play.
“When Shane does well, we’re a really good basketball team,” head coach James McKeon said. He added that the Blue Devils placed an emphasis on throwing the ball to Sheehan.
Sheehan finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds. His massive performance helped plug the hole left by the absence of Theo Sica, Westfield’s leading scorer, who sustained a mild ankle injury at practice Monday.
“Theo’s a very, very important part of our team,” said TJ Halloran, who recorded 6 assists and scored 5 points. “He’s one of the best scorers I’ve seen in the county so far, so missing him is always huge. But when Shane plays like that, it’s gonna be hard to beat us.”
Sica’s absence proved glaring in the first half, a barren stretch for both teams that left East Orange leading 15–12.
It seemed, for a while, that someone had performed surgery on the rims. Tightened them, maybe. Decreased the circumference, or the area, or whatever mathematical measurement applies to the situation.
What was Westfield doing wrong in the first half?
“Everything,” McKeon said. “Quote that. Everything.”
The Blue Devils found open looks. They failed to convert them. They did, though, play formidable defense, even if it was against a depleted East Orange team. Like Westfield, the Jaguars were missing their leading scorer, Kaiyri Barkley.
Westfield took advantage of that and seized control in the second half.
“We had a really bad first half,” Sheehan said. “And Coach McKeon, in the locker room, said [that] someone needs to step up, we need to get something going. With Theo being out, why not me?”
Tyshawn Pearson followed Sheehan in scoring with 9 points. He tacked on 6 steals, though gave Westfield fans a scare when he crumpled to the floor late in the game after leaping to snag a pass and landing awkwardly. Pearson required brief medical attendance but walked off the floor unassisted, and McKeon said postgame that Pearson would be fine.
Westfield will conclude its regular season on Friday with a 4 p.m. trip to Clifton. The Blue Devils, the No. 5 seed in the Union County Tournament, open tournament play on Feb. 8 against either No. 12 seed New Providence or No. 13 seed Hillside.
After the UCT is the sectional tournament, for which Westfield’s prospects of a high seed improved after a win that added crucial Power Points to the Blue Devils’ tally.
“Points are points,” McKeon said. “But winning is important, especially when there’s maybe two and a half weeks left. We want to extend the season, we gotta win games, and winning ugly sometimes says a lot about your team.”
East Orange refused to relent in the fourth quarter, even after Westfield built a cushion. The Jaguars applied obstinate full-court pressure, drawing energy, perhaps, from an unlikely source. A burly East Orange police officer paced behind the bench all afternoon, clapping and bellowing and attempting to galvanize the visitors. In a game with scant attendance, his voice was the loudest, his presence the largest.
The largest, that is, except for Sheehan. Late in the fourth quarter, Westfield split East Orange’s press and streaked down the floor. Sheehan received the ball under the basket, a smaller defender on him. Sheehan jumped, priming for a big dunk. The East Orange player jumped, too.
That was a mistake.
Article by Michael Liebermann
Live Tweeting by Ryan Pisarra
