17 seconds on the clock. Kean University’s Harwood Arena, filled with cries from fans and coaches alike, had been home to a physical four quarters which were now coming to a close with Westfield up three points. South Plainfield dribbles the ball up the court. They had been hitting deep 3-pointers all game, and it was time for another. They got the ball in the hands of their highest scorer. A few dribble moves and he gets some separation from his defender far behind the 3-point line. He lets a shot fly. The buzzer sounds while the ball is still in its arc. It makes contact with the rim. Spins once around. And then spins out. Westfield’s fears subsided. They were victorious.
The Blue Devils’ 59-56 win over the Tigers was close yet commanding, as they led for the entire game. Head coach James McKeon said that maintaining that lead showed his team’s growth from past games where their leads fell apart in the second half. “We executed better than we have. The beginning of the fourth was a little scary. [It was] reminiscent of other fourth quarters. We executed at the end; we got good shots. We can still be better of course, but we put [ourselves] in a good position, and rolling into the fourth if you have a little bit of leeway [you don’t] have to be perfect. So that’s credit to our guys for playing the whole game,” he said.
Westfield started out hot in the first quarter with multiple quick scores. A 3-pointer from junior Enzo Ferrero put them up 3-0 in the first minute of the game. Meticulously growing their lead, Westfield’s starters demonstrated their talent through plays such as junior Tyshawn Pearson’s converted and-1 that put them up 12-8 halfway through the first quarter. Pearson would finish with 11, one of the team’s highest scorers. The Blue Devils entered the second quarter up 22-13, finishing off a fantastic scoring period.
Throughout the game, Westfield overpowered South Plainfield off of missed shots, hauling in offensive rebound after offensive rebound, racking up second-chance points. Senior captain Shane Sheehan excelled at this, using his size to secure putback layups. Sheehan was the team’s leading scorer with 21 points.
McKeon said that winning on the boards was “a point of emphasis and something we’ve been talking about for a couple of weeks now. I’m glad to… show them that it matters when we attack the glass.” He also said that they have “a lot of athletic kids,” although in past games “we were standing and watching. But not today. Kids showed up. I’m super proud of this team and the way they played today.”
The second quarter saw more of the same action. The Tigers brought the score within five towards the middle of the quarter but Westfield ultimately ended up leading by nine going into halftime following a score by junior captain Zach Epp off of an offensive rebound.
Coming out of halftime, Westfield kept on scoring. Baskets from Sheehan and Pearson, along with a 3-pointer from sophomore Jake Russell, contributed to an 8-0 Westfield scoring run. They finished the quarter up 12.
Westfield on defense was able to stop South Plainfield’s high-scoring offense for the majority of the game. To prepare, McKeon said “We watch film. Coaches are watching film and trying to critique every player we play, and the guys executed the game plan.” He noted that they were a good 3-point shooting team and “they hit [threes]. They hit them a lot. Last game they scored 91 and had 13 threes. We play D. [We held] them under 60 points. They have been averaging 70 for the last six games. We knew we had to take pride in that end and just execute the game plan, and the kids did great.”
The Blue Devils stumbled in the beginning of the fourth quarter. Two minutes into the final period of play, South Plainfield topped off an 8-0 scoring run with a putback layup, cutting Westfield’s significant lead down to 4 points at 52-48.
“We’ve got to not let the pressure get to us, and realize when we have the lead, we’re in control, and not rush ourselves,” said Sheehan. “[We have to] let the game come to us and stay poised.”
Then, with five minutes left to play, the Blue Devils hit an unexpected setback. Setting himself to draw a charge, Epp braced for contact and took it but was called for a blocking foul. South Plainfield made the layup and converted the and-1. Epp stayed down on the floor and left the game. He did not return and had his arm in a sling on the bench.
“You don’t ever want to see a captain go down, and a guy you rely on,” said McKeon. “The old cliche is ‘next man up.’ Farid came in and did what he had to do. He played great defense.”
As for Epp, “It sucks. It sucks for him. He doesn’t want to be there,” said McKeon. On the bench, “He’s the biggest supporter. We’ll see what’s going on going forward but he’ll be back as soon as he can.”
Westfield’s lead was then cut to 1 with the score at 52-51. Two scores from Sheehan and one from the Tigers brought it to 56-53. Sheehan then added two more after going a perfect two for two from the free throw line. With only a minute left, South Plainfield hit an extremely deep three to cut the score to 58-56. The Blue Devils held the ball until Pearson was fouled with less than half a minute left. He hit one out of two free throws to put them up three points. South Plainfield’s close call in their last possession solidified Westfield’s win in a thrilling finish.
Westfield will look to add to their two-game win streak at home at 4 p.m. against Elizabeth on Tuesday.
