Maybe the dance team’s kinetic halftime performance warmed the floor. Maybe the unseasonably warm night air snuck into the gym.
Or maybe No. 5 seed Westfield, in beating No. 12 seed New Providence, 59–33, in the Union County Tournament first round, simply needed no external heating to generate an inferno early in the second half. The Blue Devils embarked on a 15–1 run to open the third quarter, banishing early fears of a tight game.
With the win, Westfield advanced to the UCT quarterfinals. The Blue Devils will face No. 4 seed Union Catholic at the Dunn Sports Center in Elizabeth on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Rust hampered Westfield early, a 6-day layoff perhaps stiffening its joints. New Providence led halfway through the first quarter. Westfield harbored fear that the Pioneers’ proclivity for chucking up 3-pointers could wreak damage, and an early New Providence made 3-pointer raised those latent fears to the surface.
But Westfield’s defensive intensity soon ratcheted up. The Blue Devils forced the Pioneers to drive rather than shoot. Open looks grew fleeting.
On the other end of the court, Shane Sheehan dazzled. The Westfield big man collected 22 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks. He, at one point, hit three 3-pointers in a three-minute span. Attempting to defend Sheehan on Thursday was like trying to catch water in a food strainer.
He was outside the arc. He was on the elbow. He was inside.
“I keep trying to expand my game to be able to score at three levels,” Sheehan said.
“We knew he had a mismatch down low,” said head coach James McKeon, who noted that they knew Sheehan’s shooting ability could suck his defender outside.
Other Westfield players also dipped their fingers into the 3-point pond. The Blue Devils drained eight 3-pointers, exploiting New Providence’s zone. Aside from Sheehan, Westfield collected big performances from Theo Sica, who had 13 points and 5 assists, and TJ Halloran, who had 8 points and 10 rebounds.
Halloran, Westfield’s season assists leader, also had 5 assists. “I love getting my teammates involved,” he said. “I feel like I have one of the best handles in the county, and I really try to get that going, getting defenders down, getting in the paint and kicking the ball to my teammates.”
New Providence’s Peyton Pazdera led his team with 14 points. He was the only Pioneer to exceed 5 points. His team fought valiantly, but to no avail. One player, to the amusement of Westfield fans, fouled out with three minutes left—in the third quarter.
Westfield has now won five games in a row heading into Saturday’s clash with Union Catholic. The two teams split the regular-season series. While Westfield played on Thursday, the Vikings lounged at home with a first-round bye. McKeon was irked when the seeding placed UC above Westfield.
“Westfield basketball gets overlooked,” he said the day after the seeding meeting. He added, “Do I feel slighted? Yeah.”
Awaiting the winner is Roselle Catholic, the putative best team in New Jersey and one that abandoned a typical Union County schedule this season in favor of playing a loaded slate stuffed with marquee teams from across the nation. The Lions, though, recently suffered injuries to three-star junior Tarik Watson and Duke commit Mackenzie Mgbako.
But worrying about Roselle Catholic’s studded roster is for later. Westfield first has to beat Union Catholic. “Everybody picked them to be better than us,” McKeon said, referring to the tournament seeding.
McKeon certainly didn’t. Westfield certainly didn’t.
