With just five points separating the two teams as the third quarter wound down, it looked like Westfield would keep the game close going into the fourth. That was until the Linden Tigers exploded, going on a 20-2 run, making a statement as to why they are one of the top teams in all of New Jersey.
The Blue Devils were fresh off a must-needed win. After beating Madison in the previous game, the team came in trying to ride off that momentum.
The first quarter got off to a slow start with the Tigers jumping out to the early lead. Despite a quick run from Linden, senior Jake Russell responded with 2 big threes to get the Blue Devils rolling. The first quarter ended 14-9 in Linden’s favor, but Westfield showed tons of fight.
As the second quarter began, the Tigers continued to use their size to their advantage, taking control of the paint and defending well as a team. Head coach James McKeon agreed, “They made it really difficult on our offensive end today. They were a good defensive team. They switched, or bigs guarded our guards pretty well.”
The second quarter wasn’t the best for the Blue Devils, with the Tigers extending the lead, but as halftime approached, it was 31-21 for Linden.
After a halftime talk, the Blue Devils came out with heat. The team was applying a ton of pressure, and with buckets from Russell and others, they cut the lead to five, forcing a Linden timeout, and after that, there was no looking back for the Tigers. With just six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Linden extended the Blue Devil deficit to make the score 55-32.
The Blue Devils put up a fight, but in the end, they couldn’t secure the win as the Tigers defeated Westfield 69-40. “We started out okay, but we weren’t rebounding. We knew they were gonna be big, so we knew we had to box out, and we didn’t execute, and they caused a lot of turnovers. So we didn’t really get a rhythm on offense,” Russell said.
Senior Max MacEacheron was proud of the fight that Westfield put up. “I think we started off kind of slow, but we kind of brought it back. I was happy with our playing, and then we just kind of let them get on a little run,” he acknowledged. “[Linden’s a] good team, but we will learn from what we did in this game and apply it to the next game.”
Looking ahead, the Blue Devils move on to the Union County Tournament, where they hope to secure a win. McKeon highlighted the need for the team to give it their all, no matter who they face during counties. “We cannot play to the level of the other team. We have to be able to play to the level of the top division in Union County, no matter who’s in front of us. So that’s the goal going forward,” he said.
The next time the Blue Devils take the court, they play Governor Livingston on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the preliminary round of the county tournament. The team hopes to bounce back from their loss to Linden and secure a victory that will move them into the next round.
