Cordoba Helps Plainfield Hold Off Westfield

Plainfield vs. Westfield

Location:  Plainfield H.S., Plainfield, NJ

Westfield – 39

Plainfield - 52

Westfield featured athletic 6’9” Chris Wright in the middle and Plainfield was missing two of their interior players 6’7” Jachai Simmons and 6’4” Jaleel Simmons.  It seemed the road to an upset victory was planted for Westfield.  To add to the upset alert feeling in the air, 6’8” Ahmad Baker was sent to the bench early in the 1^st with foul trouble.  Plainfield responded with sophomore Cesar Cordoba board work, timely defense and clutch shooting to help Plainfield pull out the 52-39 victory over Westfield. "Chris Wright was hard to cover. Coach Lubreski, Coach Gordon, and Coach Clint instructed me to front him in the post which helped me a lot in this game", Cordoba expressed after the game.

The upset alert feeling was hitting the Plainfield fans before the game started with the noticeable absence of the Simmons brothers and the early athletic display of Westfield’s Chris Wright over the rim acrobatic throw downs (without touching the rim).  The start of the game did not give Plainfield fans any confidence as Westfield would score the first 4-points and Plainfield’s starting center Ahmad Baker had to go to the bench with foul trouble.  Plainfield resilient play would be needed and the Cardinals responded by closing out the first period on a 11-2 run to grab a lead they would not give back for the remainder of the game.

Over the next two periods, Plainfield opened up the game on a 2^nd period 14-2 run and a 3^rd period 7-0 run to open the lead up to 19-points (35-16).   Westfield sharp shooting sophomore Parker Hess would connect on 2 3^rd period treys to spark a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 11 in a blink of an eye.  A Steve Jones buzzer trey gave Plainfield the 40-26 advantage going into the final period.

Westfield opened the final 8 minutes with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 8-points forcing Plainfield into a time out to attempt to stymie the ever shifting fragile momentum.  Out of the time out sophomore Cesar Cordoba would connect on a midrange put back help Plainfield score 5 consecutive points to open the lead back up to double digits (13).  Westfield’s Dylan Elliot connected on a top of the key trey to highlight a 7-2 run to get the deficit back down to 8 (47-39).  With the clock playing 6^th man for Plainfield, Westfield was forced to foul.  Plainfield connected on 5 of 6 free throws to thwart a Westfield comeback.

Game High Stats

Plainfield – Clarence Hoover – 22-points

Plainfield – Cesar Cordoba – 7-rebounds

Westfield – Chris Wright – 7-rebounds

Plainfield – Mike Kirkland – 3-assists

Plainfield – Christan Cook – 3-assists

Westfield – Dylan Elliot – 3-assists

Plainfield – Mike Kirkland – 3-steals

Westfield – Chris Wright – 3-steals

Westfield – Chris Wright – 3 blocks