As Westfield hustled down to catch up with Plainfield’s top, highly ranked player, their defense helped prevent the finish of what would have been a crushing dunk, attempting to make up for their disconnect with the hoop throughout the game. Although ultimately, the Blue Devils walked away with a familiar loss. Westfield fell short to Plainfield 22-62.
Early in the first quarter, the Blue Devils were able to keep the score close. Junior Donald Meixer opened the game with a swift layup, giving Westfield an initial lead over Plainfield, which did not last.
The Blue Devils ended the first quarter trailing Plainfield 10-19. Those 10 points in the first quarter would be the most scored, per quarter, in the entire game. They scored 6 points in the second quarter, 2 in the third, and 4 in the fourth.
The Blue Devils did not fall short with continuous shot attempts, but executing and finishing was where Westfield fell behind Plainfield so significantly. Head coach James McKeon said, looking forward, “We gotta be able to shoot the ball. The shooting was the biggest disappointment.”
Mexiner agreed, the thing he wants the team to work on the most following this loss is, “Definitely shooting. As a team, we shot terribly, so we gotta definitely have to improve that, and get some shots up in practice, so we can shoot higher percentages down the stretch.”
Along with the disconnect at the hoop, the Blue Devils also struggled with energy coming off a tough loss the just night before against rivals Scotch Plains-Fanwood. The Blue Devils were beaten by the Raiders by just one point, causing spirits to be dragging along with fatigue from such a quick turnaround and lack of rest.
Fatigue and injury caused a handful of Westfield’s starting and top players to take the night off, furthering Westfield’s skill deficit seen throughout the game.
Despite the struggle they faced, Westfield still looks to bounce back and work even harder. Sophomore Drew Roofener hopes to bounce back by, “The next day of practice, talking, communicating and erasing [this game] from our brains, but still keeping the anger from the loss for our next games.”
The Blue Devils will play Roselle Catholic on Jan. 27 at WHS, looking to raise their spirits and come back stronger.
