Athletes of the Week: The Fort Lee Boys Basketball Team

The Athlete of the Week story is a staple every week on this site, but for the first time this year, the award is being given to more than one person.

The Fort Lee boy’s basketball team made it very difficult to single out an individual this week, mainly because the team earned back-t0-back wins and nearly secured three in a row.

On Monday night, the Bridgemen defeated Queen of Peace 54-35 as the team pulled away for good in the final quarter.

Then on the very next night, Fort Lee fended away Dumont in a 64-51 win. Sophomore center Anthony Rafes scored a season-high 23 points in the victory as the Bridgemen looked to make it three wins in a row.

On paper though, many would say that Fort Lee didn’t have a chance. The Wood-Ridge Blue Devils were 16-3 heading into the Friday night contest against the Bridgemen and already had secured the top seed in their section.

But on the court, the 7-13 Fort Lee basketball team made it a point to play right with one of the top teams in New Jersey.

Sophomore guard Nick Gentile, who scored 15 points on Tuesday, picked up right where he left off with another nine points in the opening minutes. Center Anthony Rafes also continued his high-scoring trend with 10 more points in the first half.

Early in the season, Fort Lee was averaging roughly 40 points per game.

On Friday, the Bridgemen had 42 points at the half – and they also held a seven point lead.

But in the fast-paced, high scoring game, neither team could pull away for good. Wood-Ridge rallied right after halftime and erased the lead that Fort Lee established before the break. After outscoring the Bridgemen 28-12 in the third quarter, it was the Blue Devils who hoped to close the victory.

But this was a different Fort Lee team than earlier in the year. After reeling off back to back wins, the Bridgemen were thirsty for three in a row.

Freshman guard Dashaun Washington helped rally back Fort Lee with all 11 of his points coming in the final quarter.  Senior captain George Padin also played a large role, drawing charges on one end of the floor and providing an unusual offensive spark on the other side of the court as well.

“The kid is unbelievable,” Fort Lee’s head coach John Ziemba said of his senior. “He took charges and he made every big defensive play. He scored some baskets for us [too] which he doesn’t do.”

But in the end, Fort Lee’s resiliency fell just a tad bit short. They made just one of seven free throws in the closing minutes as Wood-Ridge held on for the 82-79 win when freshman guard Josh Ford’s game-tying shot fell short at the final buzzer.  

“That was a great high school game,” Ziemba said. “Every game like this we are growing up.”

Despite being in foul trouble and being unable to make free throws down the stretch, coach Ziemba knew what this game and this week meant to his team.

“We fought back and we had our freshman and sophomores making plays,” Ziemba said after the game. “At this point of the season, moral victories don’t matter. But, that’s a game where you start to see that we have something good down the road.”

If this week is any indication of what the future will look like, Fort Lee may have something to look forward to. With only seniors George Padin and the injured Ryan Ford graduating this year, the rest of the team will return next season for coach Ziemba, who said:

“I’m very proud of my guys…This game was worth ten games to us”