With just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter, senior tri-captain Zach Epp blocked a Piscataway player’s shot, leading to a wide-open three-pointer for senior tri-captain Enzo Ferrero. This play boosted the Blue Devils’ lead en route to a 71-53 win, advancing to the sectional semifinals.
Head coach Jim McKeon said, “We wanted to feed off the energy from our last game versus Newark East Side. We settled in after a few minutes and our shots started falling and rebounds were bouncing our way.”
Rebounding was a key theme for the Blue Devils, as they dominated the boards, 29-24. This result came from Piscataway playing with a small-ball lineup. Epp racked up nine rebounds and senior tri-captain Tyshawn Pearson had eight of his own.
Westfield came out to a slow start, seeming to be a little too confident after their past 50-point domination versus Newark East Side. Epp said, “We were on a high from our last game, a big 50 point victory. We were humbled a little bit in the first four minutes of the game, then we started to lock in and keep control of the game.”
The Blue Devils controlled the game from the second quarter on. Once they gained the lead they didn’t lose it for the rest of the game. This was mainly because of their intense defense. Ferrero said, “Our main defensive game plan was to stop number 11. We were worried about his big strong presence. We watched enough films to see their strengths and weaknesses and exploit the weaknesses we saw.”
Both Ferrero and junior Max MacEacheron shot the cover off the ball. Ferrero ended the game with two three-pointers and MacEacheron sank five. Ferrero said, “Max and I have been shooting in practice all week. Our shots were falling and we both felt extremely confident going into this game.”
The Blue Devils will face the No. 1 team in the state, Plainfield, in the sectional semifinal at Plainfield. McKeon said, “We just want to continue to play our ball vs Plainfield and keep doing what we’re doing. We have to go back to the drawing board with them because they have beat us in both our matchups against them this year. We are going to watch their film and see what they did well.”
The Blue Devils look to make history and compete against Plainfield to hopefully move forward in their first sectional final in 15 years.
