The Week in Sports: a Look Back and a Look Ahead

From basketball to wrestling, and indoor track to bowling, here is the latest news in Fort Lee sports:

• The boys basketball team had a very busy week with four games scheduled in six days. After Monday’s game was postponed against Dwight Morrow, the team traveled to Tenafly to play the Tigers on the road. The Bridgemen lost that contest 59-30 in one of the team’s most lopsided losses of the season, but the players and coach John Ziemba vowed that the performance motivated the boys during the rest of the week. On Thursday, Fort Lee hosted Cliffside Park in one of the Bridgemen’s biggest rivalries. After staying close with a league champion throughout the contest, Fort Lee faltered in the closing minutes of a 60-53, defeat by the Red Raiders. Sophomore guard Nick Gentile duplicated his 15-point performance from Tuesday night by adding the same amount against Cliffside Park. Sophomore center Anthony Rafes also had 24 points in the loss. Fort Lee then finished the week with a loss on Saturday 51-48 to Rutherford in another contest that came down to the final minutes. Gentile scored a team-high 22 points and talked of how the team was “craving” for wins in those late game-situations. They hope to turn those near losses into wins this week with two more games scheduled. The Bridgemen will host River Dell on Tuesday and Dwight Morrow on Thursday with both games beginning at 7 p.m.  
• The Fort Lee girls basketball team finished 1-2 this week. The Lady Bridgemen lost at home to Tenafly on Tuesday 44-32. Facing the team where Stacie Zafiris started her coaching career, senior forward Bindi Parikh netted 13 points and senior guard Brianna Mattessich added another 10. Fort Lee then followed the defeat with a 47-37 road win over Cliffside Park on Thursday. Mattessich and Parikh combined for another 27 points in the victory. And on Saturday, the girls hosted a cancer research benefit game when the team played the Rutherford Bulldogs. The team decorated the gym and their uniforms with many symbols of support for cancer survivors before falling to the Bulldogs 43-41. Ally Long’s three pointer missed at the buzzer, but the junior guard finished with 9 points on the night. The Lady Bridgemen now have another pair of games this week before the state playoffs begin. Fort Lee meets River Dell on the road on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and then hosts Hudson Catholic on Thursday for senior day at 5 p.m.
• The bowling season is officially over after the conclusion of the sectional single’s tournament last weekend.
• The indoor track team competed in the New Jersey State Group II, North 2 Sectional Championship last Sunday at Tom’s River. The last meet of the season will take place on Monday, when coach Ed Garrison’s squad will compete in the Bergen County Individual Championships.  
• The Fort Lee wrestling team did not have any team matches this week, but the Bridgemen did compete in the District 16 tournament over the weekend. 13 different wrestlers represented the Bridgemen at North Bergen High School beginning on Friday. Senior Jose Granados (119) earned a pin in his opening round match and advanced to the consolation round where he finished in third place with a win over Union City’s Lazaro Rodriguez. Juniors Andrew Lee and Demir Radoncic also reached the consolation round before both finished in fourth place respectively.