Primetime 585 Spotlight Team: Penfield boys basketball
PENFIELD, N.Y. (WROC) – This week's Primetime 585 Spotlight team is the Penfield boys basketball team.
The Patriots come off two dominant wins over Webster Schroeder and Greece Athena, handing Athena its first loss of the season with a 71-57 victory. The Trojans entered the game as the No. 2 team in the state, while Penfield was 11-1 and ranked No. 6.
Penfield is one of the biggest teams in Section V, led by a front line of six-foot-eight Jake McCarthy and six-foot-five forwards Patrick Emling and Jackson Green. Against Athena, they helped block 10 shots, with five of them coming from Green.
Point guard Michael Moxley and sharpshooter Christian Zarzycki combined for 22 points in the win, and Gabe Reyes and CJ Johnson gave Penfield quality minutes off the bench.
In preparation for Athena, Penfield head coach Jason Ellis made sure his starters were challenged in practice throughout the week.
'Every guy's got a role and responsibility,' Ellis said. 'I'll tell you what, the reason we won this, the guys that did not get in the game today beat our starters last night the entire practice. They pushed them so hard, and then our guys came out and they were ready to go. So honestly, it is truly a team.'
Zarzycki attested to the importance of everyone's role on the team, too. He gave credit to the players who push the starters in practice.
'They keep us in check all the time,' Zarzycki said. 'They keep us in check, keep us ready to go, keep us ready for these moments, these games. Fourth quarter, everyone's tired, how can you push through past that?'
One message the team preaches is coming into the game with a certain mindset. Coach Ellis holds his players to a high standard when it comes to their attitude.
'We've got wristbands that say 'attitude.' That's what we do,' Moxley said. 'Like coach said, we lost our cool for a little bit. We just had to come together as a group like we do and just get together, preach attitude, and just try to stay calm.'
Congratulations to Coach Ellis and the Penfield boys basketball team for earning the Spotlight Team of the Week!
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