Coach Timothy Madden was pleased with the effort and enthusiasm his J. Taylor Finley Middle School boys’ basketball team displayed this winter.
The 15-player squad was captained by eighth graders Joe Algieri and Hunter Borenstein. “Joe was the backbone of our team,” said Madden about the talented forward. “His effort level was always where it needed to be and our team fed off of it the entire season.”
Borenstein starred for Finley at small forward. “Hunter is a good ball handler and shooter and he finishes well near the basket,” Madden said.
The Blue Devils also received standout seasons from seventh graders Za’Khie Ramos and Daniel McNulty. “Za’Khie is a tremendous athlete who uses his speed and quickness at guard to cause havoc on opposing team’s offenses,” Madden said. “Daniel is a competitor. He did a great job at the point guard position.”
The team also received strong play from seventh graders Luke Calabria, Sammy Cirlincione, Kei Shan Miller and Dante Salgado and eighth graders John Acompora-Miller, Christopher Acompora-Miller, Ryan Centeno, James Rosselli, Joshua Stephen, James Viola and Logan Wilson.
Finley played a challenging schedule. “Our best team accomplishment came when we were down going into the last quarter in our last game against Lindenhurst,” Madden said. “We lost one of our key players with an injury in the game, which helped Lindenhurst go on a 10-2 late run. Hunter Borenstein scored six points, Josh Stephen had four and Joe Algieri scored two points and had eight rebounds to help us win the game, 41-34.”