The Cliffside Park Raiders fought the good fight in their overtime contest against the Fort Lee Bridgemen on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 58-57 to the Bridgemen. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Cliffside Park came into the game with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' New Jersey basketball rankings (they are ranked 123rd, while the Bridgemen are ranked 308th).
Cliffside Park lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Jerelz Ortiz, who scored 16 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Another player making a difference was Jamil Gonzalez, who scored 11 points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Guy Vickers continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Fort Lee, dropping a double-double on 23 points and 11 rebounds. Vickers has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last three times he's played. Jacob Greenberg was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with five rebounds.
Cliffside Park's loss dropped their record down to 11-9. As for Fort Lee, their victory ended a 11-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 6-13.
Cliffside Park will challenge the Scarlets at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Ridgefield Park will be looking to keep their three-game home win streak alive. Fort Lee will take on the Cardinals at 12:00 p.m. on Monday.
