SHEEHAN LED PTS, RBS, BLKS; PEARSON ASST, STEALS
Keeping on their toes has always been a must for any kind of success in Union County boys basketball and the Westfield Blue Devils needed to find the right combination to replace the graduation of TJ Halloran, Theo Sica and Peter Meixner. After some experimentation and adjustments in the first half of the season, the Blue Devils began to find the formula to win eight of their last 11 games and finish with a 14-12 record.
“Another successful season for the Blue Devil program! Slow start, but came together as team and finished the year strong,” Blue Devil Head Coach Jim McKeon expressed. “This marks the fifth consecutive winning season for Westfield boys basketball. That is the first time in school history that the basketball program has had five consecutive winning seasons.”
The Blue Devil boys ran into a stone wall with three straight losses (Elizabeth, Linden, Union Catholic) to begin the season. However, an impressive 63-33 triumph over Rahway followed. Next at the LeGrand Tournament in Colonia, the Blue Devils topped Union City then after dropping a 49-45 game to the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders, they edged the Colonia Patriots, 48-45.
Back-and-forth performances followed. First another loss to the SPF Raiders was followed with a loss to Plainfield. The Blue Devils beat the Pioneer Academy and knocked off a good (finished 21-8) South Plainfield team, 59-56. But Linden and Summit handed them losses before the Blue Devils rebounded to stop Union, 5848, only to fall once again to the Union Catholic Vikings for a 6-9 record.
The Blue Devils’ turnaround began with a 46-31 win over Hillsborough and a 60-42 win over Oratory Prep.After a loss to Plainfield, the Blue Devils zoomed on a fivegame winning streak (Union, North Brunswick, Monroe, Roselle, AL Johnson Crusaders). The 83-54 triumph over North Brunswick had the Blue Devils scoring an amazing 70 points in the first half and the win over the Crusaders was in the first round of the Union County Tournament (UCT).
The Blue Devils lost to Union Catholic in the UCT quarterfinal then beat Chatham, 81-41, in the regularseason finale. Their season came to an end with a 68-43 loss to the Franklin Warriors in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 first round.
The Blue Devils’ three returning starters were senior Shane Sheehan and juniors Ty’shawn Pearson and Zach Epp. Sheehan led the team with 336 points (15 3-pointers, 47 free throws), 176 rebounds and 36 blocked shots, and added 37 assists and 16 steals. Pearson led the team with 84 assists and 55 steals, and finished with 221 points (42 free throws), 95 rebounds and five blocks. Epp put in 209 points (21 3-pointers, 44 free throws) and added 47 assists, 90 rebounds, 18 steals and eight blocks.
Junior Enzo Ferrero filled in quite well and led the team with 38 3pointers. He finished with 221 points, 100 rebounds, 47 assists, 41 steals and six blocks. Sophomore Jake Russell finished with 116 points (17 3-pointers), 34 steals, 51 assists (2nd on team), 35 rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore Max MacEacheron, who finished with 94 points, 20 rebounds, 11 assists and eight steals, proved to be quite proficient from the perimeter with 28 3-pointers. Junior Will Kirby finished with 71 points, 75 rebounds, 14 steals, 11 assists and seven blocks.
Sophomore Connor Whelan received more court time as the season progressed and finished with 52 points, 47 rebounds, nine blocks and seven assists. Junior Farid Habayeb had 17 points, 17 rebounds, five steals and three assists. Junior Jonny Sica sank 12 points (trip 3-pointers) and added eight rebounds, five steals and three assists. Sophomore Aidan Wall finished with 10 points (2 3-pointers), seven rebounds and a block. Senior Stephen Edwards had 10 points (2 3-pointers), eight assists and three rebounds. Junior Ethan Zhu had six points, three assists, three rebounds and a steal. Junior Sam Zafra contributed two points.
Sheehan had a double-double (DD) with 21 points and 13 rebounds against South Plainfield, while Pearson dished out seven assists. Sheehan also had a DD (10 points, 13 rebounds) and four blocks against Summit. He had a DD (14 points, 10 rebounds) against 19-8 Monroe, while Ferrero added seven assists. Pearson had a DD (12 points, 10 rebounds) and four steals againstAL Johnson and Sheehan have five blocks.
Epp sank 20 points, including trip 3-pointers against Linden and Pearson had six assists. Sheehan bucketed 24 points against Pioneer Academy and Epp had seven assists. Pearson had 14 points and five assists against Union and Epp had 19 points (3pointer) against Union Catholic. Russell had six assists and four steals in the wipeout over North Brunswick. Ferrero banged trip 3-pointers and had 13 points against Roselle. Sheehan scored 21 points, including a 3-pointer, against Union City.
Coach McKeon commented, “I am extremely happy the way our kids battle every day at practice and during games. It is not easy task to take on the opponents we play but our kids do it the right way. Play for each other and play for their community. Future is bright and we can’t wait for next year.”
The Blue Devils will graduate one starter with Sheehan but return a host of players with a wealth of experience.
