As the boys basketball team took the court following halftime, it was obvious an energy shift had occurred. Down by more than 30 points at the break to the No. 2 ranked team in the state, the rest of the game was going to be anything but easy. To soften the blow, something had to be done. The team did just that, scoring almost 30 more points than they had in the first half, but ultimately came up short against Plainfield, 36-71.
From the first tip-off of the game, Plainfield was fighting significantly harder than Westfield. From having quick pace to intense, shot-blocking defense, a few of the skills that have led them to be the second-best team in the state were extremely evident. Still in the first half, the Cardinals scored on back-to-back fastbreak slam dunks.
As the first quarter came to a close, the Blue Devils found themselves in a scoreless hole they had to dig themselves out of. The team was unable to connect on shots from both in the paint and behind the arc, and did not see a single shot fall until sophomore Talan Lewis scored a pair of free throws early in the second quarter, making the score 2-27. Minutes later, sophomore Jack Doherty scored Westfield’s first field points of the game with only three minutes remaining in the second quarter. At halftime, Plainfield led 38-7.
Head coach James McKeon said during a much needed halftime conversation that he “wanted to see if they had fight. We can either roll over or fight back, and that’s I think we showed a little bit of fight in the second half.”
Within the first three minutes of play in the third quarter, Westfield scored nine quick points, more than they scored in the first two quarters combined. Junior Liam Washbourne said, “At halftime, we were trailing by a lot, and Coach McKeon knocked some sense into us. In the second half, we showed it a little and kept the energy up. Obviously, it wasn’t enough, but I think coming into the third quarter, we showed more energy, which showed that we can still be in these games, even if we’re down.”
Despite the heavy loss, the team has to bounce back quickly, their next game being against Chatham on Dec. 21. They play at Fairleigh Dickinson University at 5 p.m. It is a great opportunity for the team to regain confidence and re-ground themselves in their skills and strengths.
“We’re glad that we have a game tomorrow so we can bounce back from this. We need to see what we can do, and we just want to come to the [next] game stronger with a lot more energy than we did today, grateful to be able to play tomorrow,” said senior co-captain Max MacEacheron.
