After losing to No. 8 ranked Union Catholic, 71-45 earlier in the season, this highly anticipated game brought both Westfield and UC stands packed with energy. Senior tri-captain Zach Epp had an outstanding performance with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists. Epp said, “It feels really good to win. They consider us a rival, but we know how good we are, played as a team and won the game.”
Agreeing with Epp, head coach Jim McKeon said, “Stay public. That’s all it is. Our kids play for each other and with each other, and that’s what it comes down to for us, and I think our guys played harder than them.”
The first two quarters consisted of the Blue Devils strong offense and even stronger defense. Westfield got almost every rebound, not letting UC hit anything and stopping their star players seniors AJ Altobelli and Luke Schorr. Schorr scored 21 points against Westfield in their first game, yet only scored 12 points this game. At halftime, the Blue Devils led 29-17. Epp said, “I think we just played free as a whole. In the first half we were up. We have been up at half every single game against these good teams, and we just had to settle down a little bit in the second half and continue to play how we know how to play.”
Senior tri-captain Enzo Ferrero also had an impressive performance with 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Ferrero said, “We’ve been thinking about this one for a while because we get the gauntlet two times a year, where we play the hardest teams in our county and we just came ready. I think today we finally showed what we can do and how we can beat these perennial state powerhouses.”
Despite a dominant first half, Union Catholic was able to climb back into the game in the second half. With only 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Westfield only led 52-49. However, the team was able to rally late in the fourth quarter to hang on and secure the 57-49 win.
With the huge win against Union Catholic, the Blue Devils improved to 8-6 on the season. Westfield will try to keep their momentum going forward in their game against Livingston at 12 p.m. Mckeon said, “They worked for it, but we gotta get ready for the next game. That’s basketball in a nutshell, you play, you win, you lose. The next day you have to prepare for the next team.”
