The #5 Westfield Bulldogs and the Edison Eagles were tied at 28 heading into halftime. After collecting their composure, the Bulldogs used a 15-2 run in the 3rd quarter to eventually secure a 64-46 victory over the Eagles.
“We played to their pace a little too much in the first half,” Westfield Head Coach Kevin Harris said. “Edison came out and punched us in the mouth early – they played hard, they are well coached. But our kids responded in the 3rd and 4th quarter. We picked up our defensive efforts, rebounding, and took good shots.”
The Bulldogs were led by senior guard Jemon Price with 26 points. They also got a big contribution from senior guards Isaiah Brown, Jr. who had 14 points, and Colin Stemberger with 11 points.
“We just settled down in the 2nd half,” Price said. “We’re senior-led and we’ve matured a lot over the past year.”
Westfield took control from the start of the game and eventually had a 16-6 lead with two minutes remaining in the quarter. The Eagles called a timeout to regroup, and were able to shorten the lead to 17-11 going into the 2nd quarter.
Edison started the quarter with a 12-2 run that put the Eagles ahead 23-19, but Westfield stopped their surge and was able to tie the game entering the half.
Early in the 3rd quarter, sophomore guard Tyson Lacey received a technical foul for an altercation with Price. Price sank both free throws and a few minutes later he drilled back-to-back 3-pointers, which sent the crowd into a frenzy, and gave the Bulldogs a 44-35 lead.
“My team did a good job of finding me,” Price said. “We were running the ball and running our sets. We’ve been together for a while now so we’ve got the chemistry.”
Westfield maintained its lead through the rest of the game, as the Bulldogs were able to hold the Eagles to only six points in the 4th quarter.
“We were able to rebound and run more in the 2nd half,” Coach Harris said. “We were holding them to mostly one shot. We did a decent job of keeping them off the free throw line in the 3rd quarter. They [my players] care about winning, they don’t care who gets the credit.”
The Bulldogs are poised to be a contender for a deep-playoff run this season, but Coach Harris has his team set on one game at a time.
“We’re just concerned with our next game, our next practice, and putting our best foot forward,” Coach Harris said. “We’re holding ourselves to our standard, which is a championship level effort. If we do that on a daily basis, things should take of themselves.”
–TJ Davis
@Ttown316
Game Notes:
–Westfield was playing its second game in three nights. Thursday night the Bulldogs were beaten at #1 Paul VI by a wide margin. Saturday the Bulldogs play Prince George’s Christian Academy (MD) at home.
–In the Thursday night game the Bulldogs lost senior forward Mathias Lee to injury (knee). The injury is not believed to be long-term, but Lee was unavailable for the Edison game. Also out was his brother, sophomore guard-forward Malachi Lee, who recently concluded his football season.