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Sports

Fort Lee High School Basketball Season Comes to End

The Bridgemen and Lady Bridgemen both lost in the first round of the state tournament.

Last week, Feb. 28, marked the end of the basketball season for both basketball teams, but the two teams' respective seasons were not without highlights or excitement.

The Bridgemen fell to Rutherford, 66-63, in spite of 27 points from Josh Ford. The team made some mental mistakes but played their hearts out in a valiant attempt to extend their season. Fort Lee finished 12-13 for the year and has a lot to look forward to next season.

“The good news is we only lose one starter to graduation, and as much as I despise the term ‘next year,’ we do have a lot to look forward to,” said assistant coach James Puliatte.

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The season was filled with memories of big wins and also head coach John Ziemba’s historic 300th win.

The Lady Bridgemen were also eliminated on Feb. 28, when they lost 47-34 to River Dell. It was a fun season for the girls’ team as well; they won their third holiday tournament and raised $904 during their "Coaches vs. Cancer" game against Dumont.

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The team finished 8-18, but they were a hard-working group that never gave up.

“The team was one of the most unified and hard-working teams that Fort Lee girls basketball has ever seen,” said head coach Stacie Zafiris. “Senior Captains Ally Long, Megan Gimson, Anthe Nikolaidis and Natalia Kim were huge role models for the underclassmen in the program. They had an incredible work ethic and played with true passion throughout every contest. All four seniors were starters this season, and their leadership was present throughout every game. Junior Renee Mattesich stepped up this season and emerged as a key contributor for the Lady Bridgemen, both offensively and defensively.

Zafiris added, "New faces joined the varsity squad: sophomore Caitlin Mckenna and Erica Amarini, along with Junior Taylor Garruso.”

Both the boys’ and girls’ teams had hard-fought campaigns this year, but unfortunately the season came to an abrupt end last week. Both teams will look toward the future and continue to build for the next couple seasons.

Athlete of the Week:

Josh Ford, Boys' Basketball

Sophomore Josh Ford scored 27 points in Fort Lee’s state tournament loss to Rutherford on Feb. 28. Ford continues to impress his teammates and coaches with his hard work and strong play on the court.

Ford has incredible potential; he is already putting up big numbers, and he has two more seasons to contribute to the Bridgemen. Ford’s outstanding play this season was a big key to the team’s success.

"There are a lot of cliched basketball buzzwords you could use to describe Josh Ford: 'spark plug,' 'high motor,' 'energizer, 'game-changer.' But the one that I think sticks the most, especially when it comes to what he meant for our team this year, is 'fearless,'" said assistant coach James Puliatte. "He's only 15 years old, stands at maybe 5'8" [and] 160 pounds and was taking the ball to the rim, challenging 18-year-old 'men,' who were nearly a foot taller and 50 pounds heavier then him on a nightly basis."

Ford had a lot of fun playing this season and contributing for the Bridgemen.

"It was a good season this year," said Ford. "I know things didn't turn out the way we liked, but I felt my team and me fought to the end of the game. And also, I wouldn't be the player I am today if wasn't for coach Ziemba, coach Puliatte, coach Scerbo and my teammates."

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