UC defeated Westfield 52-50 in the quarterfinal of the Union County Tournament
Winchester's 2 free throws with under one second left in the game gives UC dramatic win vs. Westfield
Keyshawn Winchester sank two free throws with less than one second left to Union Catholic a thrilling and wild 52-50 victory over Westfield in the quarterfinal round of the Union County Tournament on Saturday night at the Dunn Center in Elizabeth.
It was the sixth straight victory for the Vikings, who improved to 14-8 on the season. UC, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, will now play No. 1 seed Roselle Catholic, the No. 1 ranked team in the state, in the semifinal round on Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. at Kean University.
The final seconds of the UC-Westfield game was full of suspense and drama.
With the score tied at 50-50 and fifth-seeded Westfield trying to hold the ball for the last shot of the game, Winchester stole the ball with 12 seconds left and missed a layup. After
Yaw Ansong grabbed the offensive rebound for UC, the Vikings called timeout with 1.66 seconds left.
On the inbounds play,
AJ Altobelli passed to Winchester right under the basket. Winchester missed the layup, but was fouled with just .57 seconds left. After Winchester made both free throws, Westfield's long three-point attempt at the buzzer from three quarters of the length of the floor nearly went in, hitting the rim and bouncing of the backboard before falling to the floor.
Chim Okeoma, who made several big shots down the stretch, led the Vikings with 17 points, and Altobelli added 15 points, five steals, and four assists. Winchester finisished with eight points and four steals.
