Sophomore guard Nick Gentile and freshman guard Josh Ford combined to score 38 points for the Bridgemen on Saturday.

On most days, that would result in a Fort Lee victory. That day was not today however.

On Saturday, the Garfield Boilermakers benefited from a fast-paced basketball game and sound rebounding as they defeated the Fort Lee Bridgemen 70-61.

Garfield started the afternoon on a 6-0 run as Fort Lee committed a pair of turnovers. The Bridgemen were unable to rebound in the early going as the Boilermakers established a nine point lead in the first quarter.

“We had a very good practice yesterday so I am surprised that we came out that way,” said Bridgemen head coach John Ziemba.

As Fort Lee continued to be out-rebounded, Ziemba searched for someone to rebound on his team. The coach then called the number of freshman forward Chris Ashmen, who filled the void.

“I put [Ashmen] in the game, who is a freshman and just sits on the varsity bench,” Ziemba said. “He came in and got more rebounds in the four or five minutes that he was in there then my three frontcourt guys got in the whole game.”

Despite the rebounding woes, the Bridgemen closed the gap in the second quarter as Gentile and Ford stepped up offensively. The two players combined to score 15 of the team’s 16 points in the period as Fort Lee was only down by four points at the half.

“They are very athletic and play as hard as anyone we’ve seen,” said Garfield head coach Chris Annibal.

But opening the third quarter, the Boilermakers were looking to increase their lead as the Bridgemen were inching toward a tie. Leading 32-28, Garfield rallied offensively, outscoring Fort Lee 23-9 in the period.

Senior Richie Colon was a big factor in the surge as he had six of his game high 21 points during that stretch.

“They play hard,” Ziemba said of Garfield. “They shot lay-ups and open three pointers because they player harder than we do. Colon is a real good player.”

Fort Lee rallied back over the final few minutes, once again cutting the deficit to single digits, but Garfield would go on to win the game 70-61.

Last week, Ziemba talked about how important this week would be for Fort Lee and their playoff hopes. After the team fell short by losing three games to Dwight Morrow, Lakeland and Garfield, the focus is now changing.

“Right now we can’t worry about the state tournament,” the head coach said. “We got to get better and we have to win a game. We need to play harder.”

Instead of a day off on Sunday, the Bridgemen will now have practice at 8 a.m. as the team prepares for another tough week ahead. The team will host the Mahwah Thunderbirds on Tuesday night, travel for a re-match against the Westwood Cardinals on Thursday and return home for a Saturday afternoon contest against Lodi.