Saturday, February 12, 2011
The Bridgemen nearly had three wins this week including one against a top NJ 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 …
Friday, January 21, 2011
Lady Bridgemen now on season-high three-game losing streak.
The Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen welcomed one of the top teams in New Jersey to their gym on Thursday night and hung with the enemy for most of the contest. But in the final quarter, the visiting Lakeland Lady Lancers (11-1) pulled away with an 18-7 run to collect yet another victory. “I think we came out a little down,” said Lakeland head coach Erin Zarubnicky. “But I think we picked it up in the second half.” Early on, both teams played a close game, as Lakeland held just a three-point lead after the first quarter. During that time, Fort Lee looked to set up their offense in a new approach. “We slowed it down more than usual,” said senior guard Brianna Mattessich. “Today we tried to play our game and got more out of it.” The Lady Bridgemen …
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Defense fuels Fort Lee in 51-22 victory at Paramus.
Coach John Ziemba motivated the Fort Lee Bridgemen with a halftime speech on defense, and the result was evident, as the team allowed just five points the rest of the way in a 51-22 win over Paramus. Fort Lee has now won back-to-back games for the first time this season and have accomplished the feat while outscoring their opponents by a combined 60 points. “It feels amazing,” said sophomore guard Nick Gentile. “Two wins in a row feels good after the slow start,” added senior forward George Padin. “It feels good to pick it up and get two wins in a row.” Off the tip, Paramus set up guard Evan Kim for an early lay-up, but Fort Lee answered with the next 10 points of the game. “We are coming with so much energy now,” Gentile said. “We ended …
Senior guard nets 41 points this week in just a pair of games
As freshman turn into sophomores, and juniors become seniors, they start to earn more responsibilities with each passing year. This happens both in the classroom and in athletics. One basketball player has embraced the responsibilities of being a senior captain and is putting up the numbers to go with it. Fort Lee’s senior guard Brianna Mattessich scored 22 points and corralled 12 rebounds in a win Tuesday against Westwood and followed that with a 19-point performance at New Milford on Thursday night. “[Brianna] has been doing some things the last couple games that really make her a caliber player in the league and in the county,” Fort Lee Coach Stacie Zafiris said. “I wouldn’t trade her for anybody.” But when Mattessich was told about …
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Saturday, January 8, 2011
The baby-faced freshman is a star in the making.
Freshman year of high school is a unique time for all boys and girls. It is a time to be nervous yet anxious, excited and worried, but most of all, high school comes with uncertainty. Today, Patch’s Athlete of the Week award is presented to a freshman who is making a name for himself on the hardwood. Against players twice his size and some even four years older than him, guard Dashaun Washington looks overmatched. But on the basketball floor, he is matching up just fine. Washington has been “playing up” since his time in the Fort Lee rec program where he was a younger athlete already playing with 7th and 8th graders. This season it happened again. Instead of playing at the freshmen level with players his age, Washington was bumped up, not …
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Second half proves costly for Fort Lee girls' basketball team, who fell to Dumont Thursday night 57-42.
After entering halftime tied, all signs pointed to the Dumont Huskies and the Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen playing a close game until the final buzzer. But halfway through the third quarter, Dumont took control with an 11-0 run on their way to remaining undefeated. “We really wanted to beat our rival and come out with fire,” said Fort Lee senior guard Brianna Mattessich. “We were playing with them the whole time. Then in the second half, we came out and turnovers killed us.” Fort Lee head coach Stacie Zafiris prepared countless hours for Dumont and was not pleased with the final outcome. “Again, we beat ourselves,” said Zafiris. “I don’t think that they earned the win. I think we gave them the win.” The night began with turnovers on both sides …
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Nelson Mendez leads the Scarlets with a game high 24 points.
Separated by just five miles, the rivalry between Fort Lee and Ridgefield Park grows large in just the small amount of space that divides the two New Jersey towns. It is a rivalry where the Scarlets and Bridgemen simply do not like each other, and on Tuesday night, it was Ridgefield Park that walked away with bragging rights in a 52-40 win. One of the key components of the victory was the play of Nelson Mendez, the Scarlets' senior forward. Mendez utilized his inside presence and post-up maneuvers to lead all players with a game-high 24 points. "Mendez is the best player in the league," said Fort Lee head coach John Ziemba. "He made some unbelievable shots." "He just gets free and gets open," added sophomore center Anthony Rafes. "He's a …
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Parikh leads Lady Bridgemen to consecutive Holiday Tournament Championships.
Senior forward Bindi Parikh scored a season-high 25 points in the championship game of the Lyndhurst Holiday Tournament and was named the Patch Athlete of the Week. As the Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen won their unprecedented second consecutive championship, Parikh led the charge from beginning to end. The forward outscored the Park Ridge Owls 11-5 in the first quarter and continued to pour it on throughout the game. The soft-spoken Parikh said, "We have an awesome team so with the help of everyone we were able to have a great game." What makes the senior's performance even more remarkable is what happened to her in the team's opening game of the tournament. Riddled with foul trouble throughout the contest, Parikh saw limited minutes and only …
Thursday, December 30, 2010
The Bridgemen basketball team kept its composure in a physical fourth quarter for the victory at home in the Jack Reilly Boys Basketball Tournament.
The Fort Lee Bridgemen took advantage of two late technical fouls, earning their first win of the season in a come-from-behind 42-39 victory against the Mahwah Thunderbolts. The win also secures Fort Lee another game on Sunday against Montclair as Mahwah was eliminated from the Jack Reilly Boys Basketball Tournament. After going 0-4 to start the year, the Bridgemen were ecstatic to get the win. "We needed a win in 2010," said Fort Lee coach John Ziemba. "I know we have a tough team to play on Sunday, but we needed this win so bad." To begin the night, Fort Lee held Mahwah to just five points in the first quarter, something many of the players attributed to the return of senior forward George Padin. "It helped us a lot, and our team defense…
Friday, December 24, 2010
Fort Lee is adjusting to playing without seniors, but lose 60-41 at home.
In their first home game of the season, the Fort Lee Bridgemen were defeated by the Ramapo Raiders 60-41 on Thursday night. Fort Lee sophomore guard Nick Gentile lead all players with 18 points, but it wasn't enough to stop Ramapo from improving to 3-0 on the season. The Bridgemen were again without their lone senior captain George Padin, who suffered a concussion in the season opener against Bergenfield last week. "We really miss him," said Gentile. "He is the heart of our team." The game began with Fort Lee holding an early one point advantage before Ramapo regained and then increased the lead. Senior forward T.J. Hunt single handedly outscored the Bridgemen in the first quarter 8-7, but that didn't stop Fort Lee from mounting a comeback…
Mike Radomski
12:45 pm on Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Thank you for the positive feedback Leslie. I'm glad you enjoyed the article more ›