EP Hands Saint Ray's First Division I Loss of Year

East Providence High Boys Basketball team dealt St. Ray's Academy their first loss in Division One Friday night, January 27th in an exciting 59-52 game before a sold-out Townie gymnasium. "I think we may have turned away about 50 people whom we couldn't seat," said EP Athletic Director Gregg Amore.

For the Townies January was a good month as they had wins over Central, Classical, Cranston East and Hope twice, culminated by knocking off Number One St. Ray's. The game against the Saints was close through the first period but then St. Ray's opened up a comfortable 13 point lead shortly before halftime. However East Providence clawed back with a Dion Hazard three point shot and after another three pointer by Deyshawn Tengbeh with seconds left, EP trailed St. Ray's by just 7 points.

After a game in which it seemed like the Saints might pull away and remain undefeated, East Providence never gave up. "We didn't panic and the kids kept charging the boards," said Townie head coach Joe Andrade. "I'm very proud of these guys."

At times the Townies looked like a track team as they crashed the boards outrebounding the Saints and scoring from the foul line at key points toward the end of the game. With under 7 minutes left to play, the Saints tied the game but Dion Hazard (19 points) and Deyshawn Tengbeh (25 points) led a furious Townie effort to eventually beat the Saints by 7 points. Trevante Jones was high scorer for the Saints with 19 points. Other Townies chipped in with Juston Williams, Kyerstan Casey, Ben Sears, Anuoluwapo Ogunronbi and Quinton Osbourne all scoring and contributing on defense.

"I'm very proud of this team," said Superintendent of Schools Kathryn Crowley who watched the entire game. "I'm a big fan," said Crowley adorned in her Red & White colors.

The Townies January winning streak came to end in late January in a 66-62 loss to Smithfield. Brian Goodman led Smithfield with a career night 32 points including 7 threes. The Townies played well just could never take the lead and had no answer for Goodman. East Providence was led by Dion Hazard's 16 points.

Earlier the Townies won their 7th league game against a determined Woonsocket team. Woonsocket recently played a tough Hendricken team but lost to EP in a 65-58 game. The Townies were in control of the game from the tip off led by Deyshawn Tengbeh's 22 points including 4 three pointers.

The Townies had improved their Division 1 record to 6-2 with a 66-54 win over Cranston East. The Townies built a 31-26 lead at halftimeand were able to build a lead in the second half up to 16 but the Thunderbolts worked hard to cut it to 6 late in the 2nd half. "We were able to hold off the constant man pressure of the Thunderbolts all game and ended up with an impressive 66-54 win, I thought," said Head Coach Joe Andrade. "Our kids were balanced with scoring with

Sophomore Dion Hazards 18 points, Senior Kyerstan Casey 17, and Junior Deyshawn Tengbeh 16," said the coach.

The Townies were a hot team in January as they won 5 straight after beating Hope High 67-54. "We started league play at 0-2 but now have hit a mini hot streak and have won 5 straight," said coach Andrade. "We seemed to be in control all night and built a 36-24 lead at half time. Hope did cut the lead to 5 in the 2nd half but the we played strong led by Deyshawn Tengbehs 21 points and 6 steals. Sophomore Clinton Ogunronbi had 3 points but was strong on the glass with 11 rebounds. Junior guards Andre Gordon and Juston Williams also were major contributors with a combined 15 points off the bench. Dion Hazard continues to play solid at the point guard with 11 points 6 assists and 3 steals," added coach Andrade.

In a scene reminiscent of earlier big wins in the Townie gym, hundreds of fans stormed the floor in celebration after the Townie upset win over the Saints. "It certainly is a great Townie evening," said Athletic Director Gregg Amore after the game. Indeed it was a bust night for the high school. Along with a sold out basketball crowd, there was a packed auditorium for a dance recital and a well attended soccer game under the lights behind the school. The large parking lot was at capacity. Certainly a night that the community enjoyed full use of its high school. A brief video of the game's ending can be seen on Facebook on the writer's page.