Dobbs’ Anthony Ficarrotta Strives To Get It Right This Time

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Anthony Ficarrotta receives the tourney's MVP Award (photo by Roy Emlet)

January 3, 2026

By Tom Pedulla–

The Westchester County Center has been the site of heartbreak for the Dobbs Ferry boys’ basketball team. There was an agonizing last-minute postseason loss to Alexander Hamilton two years ago and a not-so-close defeat against Woodlands last year to deny another bid for the Gold Ball.

While it remains to be seen what this year’s playoffs will bring, the Eagles helped ease the sting of those setbacks by routing Westlake 80-53 on Jan. 2 as part of the Slam Dunk Showcase at the County Center. “To win here for the first time was huge for us,” said senior Anthony Ficarrotta, who paced the never-in-doubt blowout with 45 points and 18 rebounds and earned the game’s Most Valuable Player Award.

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Ficarrotta and senior point guard Mateus Hertz-Bird had emphasized before the game the importance of breaking through at an arena that had haunted them. “We were both telling the guys, ‘We have this opportunity, we have this platform, and we need to embrace the pressure,” said Hertz-Bird.

Expectations are incredibly high for the Eagles. Anything less than a sectional championship will be viewed by many as a failure. The 6-3 Ficarrotta is that good; so is his supporting cast.

So far, Dobbs Ferry has managed those expectations incredibly well in rattling off victories in seven of its first eight games. The Eagles never trailed in building a 21-10 first-quarter advantage versus Westlake that grew to 42-25 by halftime and 66-39 through three quarters. “There’s a lot of potential, but we always know that potential doesn’t mean much unless you do something with it,” said Coach Scott Patrillo. “They want to do more. They want more out of their senior year.”

That means dealing with pressure that accompanies every tipoff.

“Coach Patrillo is always telling us that pressure is a privilege and that having eyes on us is because we’ve earned it, because we worked hard and had results in the past,” said Hertz-Bird. “We just need to keep playing with confidence and we need to use that pressure and make sure we’re focused on every game.”

They brought laser focus to the Westlake game. The Wildcats had swept seven of their first eight games before the Eagles dispatched them with stunning ease.

Ficarrotta continued his relentless pursuit of the Section 1 scoring record by draining 19 of 30 field goal attempts, including 2 of 5 from three-point range. He sank all five of his foul shots.

“He’s never satisfied. He’s never complacent,” said Patrillo of one of the great players in school history. “He just wants to continue to improve and grow.”

Junior Calvin Higgins and Hertz-Bird joined Ficarrotta in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Marcus Jackette topped Westlake with 16 points. The Eagles dominated in rebounds, 46-28.

Patrillo praised Ficarrotta’s supporting cast. He is confident that all-important team chemistry is where it needs to be. “Most of them have been together since they were in elementary school,” he noted. “They know how to play with a guy like that and there is not an issue as far as ego or anything on this team. That’s so important.”

Ficarrotta is encouraged by everything he is seeing. “I think we’re progressing really well. We’re seeing improvements all over the board throughout the season,” he said. “I think we’re all going to just keep getting better. We’re working on our game every single day. We’re really trying to get to the next level.”

The Eagles are driven by past failures. Memories of the Woodlands game remain vivid. “Losing last year was a terrible feeling,” Ficarrotta said. “We don’t want to feel that again.”

For Dobbs Ferry, it is all about returning to the County Center for the playoffs. And getting it right.

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