St. Mary’s Fama hospitalized with broken leg

LYNN – A dark cloud was gruesomely cast over the game that shined brightest on the first day of theWalter J. Boverini BasketballTournament at Lynn Tech Friday afternoon.
The game between St. Mary’s and Lynn English was delayed for quite some time late in the fourth quarter after Spartans junior forward Joe Fama of Lynnfield suffered a broken tibia and fibula in his right leg.
It was apparent from the moment Fama hit the ground that something was very wrong, as his distress could be heard throughout the field house. Coaches and trainers gathered around Fama until emergency medical personnel arrived via ambulance to escort him away on a stretcher to a rousing ovation.
All the while, a somber crowd looked on in silence while both teams returned to their respective benches, many of the Spartans with their hands on their heads.
Fama, who had 17 points in the game, underwent surgery at Beverly Hospital Friday night and is expected to remain in the hospital for several days.
“Joe puts in a lot of hard and work and does a lot of good things out on the floor,” said St. Mary?s coach Dave Brown. “He can rebound, makes passes and score at times as you saw today. He factors in at the four spot and creates a lot of mismatches. His loss will definitely hurt us.’
?I feel awful for the kid, he had been playing very well up to that point,” said Bulldogs coach Mike Carr. “You never want to see that happen to anybody. Hopefully he makes a quick recovery.”English won the game, 80-69, in overtime.