The Elizabeth crowd is on their feet as the final minutes of the game tick down at Thomas J. Dunn Sports Center. Westfield cannot seem to find the net through Elizabeth’s lethal defense. Elizabeth quickly steals the ball and sprints down the court for a fast break dunk. The Elizabeth crowd erupts in a frenzy and the look on the Westfield players’ faces is not one filled with much hope.
Despite a sharp-shooting performance from senior tri-captain Enzo Ferrero, who drained four 3-pointers, Elizabeth trampled Westfield in the quarterfinals of the Union County Tournament 64-47.
From the get-go, Elizabeth came out strong, quickly establishing control over the three point line with an 8-0 run that forced Westfield to call an early timeout, not even two minutes into the game. Head coach James McKeon said, “We didn’t show up in the first quarter. They just dictated the flow of the game today, which, hats off to them. They shoot lights out [at home], which we know.”
This was the third time No. 8 seeded Westfield and No. 5 seeded Elizabeth have gone head-to-head in the 2024-2025 campaign. Both teams have beaten the other once previously this season. However, this time around Westfield just could not get it done. Senior tri-captain Zach Epp said, “[Both teams] know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, so it’s really about execution and playing as hard as possible to dig out the win.”
The Elizabeth defense, characterized by length and athleticism, disrupted the Blue Devils’ offensive flow, leading to repeated turnovers and fast-break opportunities for the Minutemen. Regardless, Westfield showed resilience in the second and third quarters with junior Max MacEacheron’s five points and senior tri-captain Tyshawn Pearson’s clutch free throws.
Epp notched a fast-break layup late in the fourth, which gave Westfield some dignity back after a steady 15-point deficit for most of the game. Epp said he was just trying to make a late push to come back. Still, there was little wiggle room to defeat Elizabeth’s dominant offense.
Westfield is now preparing for the North 2, Group 4 sectional tournament and the Blue Devils are not worried by the Saturday night loss. McKeon said, “This game doesn’t define us. We’re in a good position. We play hard everyday.”
Echoing his coach, Ferrero said, “We obviously have to clean a few things up but we’ll be ready when we take the court for our first state game.” The Blue Deviles will play Hillsborough away on Feb. 22 at 11:30 a.m. as a warm up for the state tournament starting the following week.
2 comments
Great article, lets go blue devils.
Great article, lets go blue devils