“Boom, boom, boom.” The soft thump of the warm-up basketballs filled the Union gym. It was clear Westfield wasn’t nervous despite the Farmers being 5-5 and completely healthy. Westfield had already suffered a previous loss to Union, 48–45, in the first game of the season, and the Blue Devils never looked back. Looking to haunt the Farmers with dominant revenge, the Blue Devils were hungry.
With tensions high, the first quarter was a complete stalemate. The Blue Devils attempted to push the ball hard on offense, but were quickly halted by the Farmers’ aggressive defense.
It was obvious that aggressive defense was the decision maker of the game as the Blue Devils adopted this style to prevent Union from sneaking by. Led by sophomore Tyshawn Pearson, the Blue Devils’ first-quarter defense was impenetrable.
As both teams hustled up and down the court, the Blue Devils were able to put up a few baskets with the Farmers following close behind. Senior co-captains Theo Sica and TJ Halloran knew the stakes of the game as they worked to find holes in Union’s defense for easy baskets.
However, the Farmers held on and the first quarter ended without much action with Westfield leading, 12–8.
With the Farmers optimistic for a victory as they only trailed by 4 points, the second quarter would be a rude awakening.
Like fire to gasoline, the Blue Devils exploded. Union tagged on some quick points off layups and was looking to secure the lead all quarter. Halloran and freshman Jake Russell had other ideas.
Following a layup from Halloran and a basket from senior Mason Gibbs, Russell buried a huge 3-pointer to push the Blue Devil lead to 23–17 and cause Union to take a timeout. It was instantly clear that the game’s energy had completely shifted to favor Westfield, and head coach James McKeon III refused to let it slip.
When asked about how the team was able to gain such fierce energy when needed most, McKeon was quick to respond. “Teamwork,” said McKeon. “Guys are knowing their roles, guys are trusting each other, we are sharing the basketball, we are not turning it over, and we have more assists than turnovers again. Those things are going to lead to victories and playing in Union County, you have to value the ball.”
Union seemed to almost give up for the remainder of the quarter, playing sloppy and showing little offensive threat. As the seconds ticked down, Halloran weaved through the defense before putting up a beautiful layup at the buzzer, sending the crowd to its feet.
Westfield led Union at halftime, 27–17, to show Union that it viciously wanted to win this game.
The Blue Devils came out of the second half looking to set up plays and get guys open down low, but Union was all over this and was playing very aggressively on defense.
Sica was attacking the basket and converting on tough layups throughout the entirety of the third quarter. This played a large part in the Blue Devils maintaining their commanding third-quarter lead.
Union’s defense allowed it to hang around as the Farmers were getting several steals and fast-break opportunities.
However, Pearson would not allow Union to capitalize off of these steals as he totaled 7 steals in the game.
Following one of his 7 steals, Pearson nailed a buzzer beater to end the third and give momentum back to Westfield with a 37–26 lead.
“Knowing we are playing Union, they are always a physical team, always very active on the boards. We talk about playing aggressively in every game, but it’s a big emphasis this week,” said McKeon.
The Blue Devils most certainly followed this game plan as both Halloran and Sica finished with 10 rebounds, and the team totaled 16 steals.
“We knew that if TJ attacked the basket all game and commanded the offense we would find success,” said Sica.
Sica was right as Halloran had a season-high 18 points, allowing Westfield to maintain a comfortable lead for the majority of the game.
It was evident that Union was getting very frustrated with the Blue Devils’ commanding offense, as Westfield hit the bonus with 4 minutes left in the fourth.
Key plays from Sica and sophomore Zack Epp allowed Westfield to close out the game comfortably, with a 50–41 win.
The Blue Devils will be taking on Oratory Prep for their next game, which is on Saturday at 2:30 pm. at home.
