By John Knebels • Posted January 23, 2026

Father Judge and Roman Catholic know each other too well for anything to feel routine.

Even in January. Even in the regular season.

So when Rocco Westfield’s three-pointer fell at the buzzer on Jan. 16, sealing a scintillating 69-68 Father Judge win over the Cahillites, the eruption inside the Judge gym felt bigger than the calendar suggested.

This wasn’t a championship rematch on paper – but everyone inside the building knew what it meant.

Westfield, a Merrimack College commit, delivered one of the finest performances of his regular-season career. He finished with 21 points, hitting all five of his three-point attempts, adding six assists and four rebounds. No shot mattered more than the last.

“I guess you could consider it an advantage that I didn’t have more time to shoot,” Westfield said. “I didn’t really think about it. I just let it go.”

The final possession unfolded in chaos and trust.

Senior Max Moshinski grabbed the rebound after Roman Catholic missed a free throw in the closing seconds and sprinted up the floor. As defenders collapsed, Moshinski kept his eyes up.

“I looked and saw Rocco running to the corner with his hands up,” said Moshinski. “He was wide open. All I had to do was give him a good pass.”

Westfield caught, faded, and fell to the floor as the shot went up.

“I actually didn’t really see it go in,” he said. “I just heard the crowd and everyone rush the court – that’s how I knew it went in.”

The Judge student section poured onto the floor. Teammates swarmed. The moment felt surreal, especially with Westfield’s entire family in attendance and more watching on the livestream.

Moshinski contributed nine points, seven assists, and five rebounds. Both guards labeled the experience as the most exciting regular-season win they’ve been part of – a back-and-forth battle filled with lead changes and urgency.

The victory also spoke to something larger.

Father Judge is still riding momentum from last season, when the Crusaders captured their first Philadelphia Catholic League championship in 27 years, winning a thriller at the Palestra before going on to defeat Roman Catholic again in the PIAA Class 6 A state championship game one month later.

This year’s Catholic League race is crowded and fierce, with eight of the 14 teams sporting winning records at the halfway point. Judge is 5-2, one game out of first place.

“We have a lot of guys with experience playing in big games,” Westfield said. “They know what it takes to win on a big stage.”

Coach Chris Roantree’s message, Westfield noted, centered on embracing what he calls “50/50 games” – matchups where the margin is razor thin and execution decides everything.

“That was a big win for us,” Westfield said. “Everyone was really hype in the locker room.”

In a league where, as Westfield put it, “anyone could beat anyone on any given night,” moments like this don’t guarantee anything. But they do reveal something real.

On a night when the past lingered and the future waited, Father Judge trusted its work, trusted each other – and trusted a kid in the corner who didn’t overthink it.

And for one loud, unforgettable second, that was enough.

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Contact John Knebels at jknebels@gmail.com or on ‘X’ @johnknebels.