The J. Taylor Finley Middle School boys’ basketball team wrapped up its season by winning its last five games to finish with a 6-4 record.
Coached by Flower Hill physical education teacher Timothy Madden, the 17-player team was captained by eighth graders Frank Algieri, Shariff Penalo and Shelby Gillenwater.
Finley showed marked improvement during the season. (Darin Reed photo.)
“Frank Algieri is a great competitor and leader of this team,” said Madden about Finley’s star guard. “He drives the ball well to the rim and finishes. He is a very good shooter. He also plays great defense and rebounds the ball.”
Penalo also enjoyed a standout season. “Shariff did a tremendous job running the show as our point guard,” Madden said. “He has very good court awareness and vision.”
Gillenwater starred at forward. “Shelby did a great job around the rim,” Madden said. “He was a great rebounder, both offensively and defensively. His skills improved greatly over the course of the season.”
Madden said he is proud of the progress the team made during the season. “We started out 1-4 and followed up with five wins in a row,” the coach said. “It was a great collective team effort.”
The team came together nicely during the season. “This was a hardworking, team oriented group,” Madden said. “They came to practice each day with the goal of bettering their skills. It was great to see the team’s hard work pay off come game day.”
With a strong group of current seventh graders set to return next winter, Finley appears to be well-positioned to put another talented team on the court.