EPHS boys basketball bops Woonsocket 77-46 Friday. Move on to Div. I Q-Finals vs. LaSalle at LSA on Tuesday

The Townies boys basketball team started on the road to the Division I state championship with an opening round decisive victory over Woonsocket High on Friday night by a 77-46 score. In a rainy and snowy night, a packed house at EPHS saw an entertaining game. “We started a little shaky but Woonsocket is here to play, here to win,” said Townie head coach Joe Andrade after the game. Indeed, Woonsocket hit several of their early shots in a quick perimeter passing strategy while Ep missed a few shots of their own. However, the Townies quickly figured it out as the score ended in a 17-17 tie after one quarter. “It was our defense,” said Andrade. “We made a few adjustments, we rebounded well and defensively we picked it up.” The Townies held Woonsocket to just 6 points in 23 attempts in the second quarter.

The Townies crashed the boards and with the defense beginning to dominate, the scoring gap widened as the offense clicked. “We started to get our chemistry back. Max (Collins) only recently returned (injury) and others who also were sidelined, are back. This is what we’ve been missing, without Max in the lineup.” There were many positives from tonight, many. Now it’s on to LaSalle on Tuesday. As the 7th seed, we get LaSalle next,” smiled Andrade.

Max Collins led all scorers and provided the offensive spark with 24 points including 5 three-point baskets. “If Max plays like he did (tonight) we have a shot in this tourney,” Andrade said. Xavier Hazard added 15 points with 3 three-pointers and tossing in 14 points was Trey Rezendes including a key three-pointer down the stretch. Other Townie scorers were Kenaz Ochqwu 7 points, William Winfield 5 points with Javaan Gonsalves, Franklin Lopez, Derrell Liggins and Tyler Gomez each scoring 3 points. Gonsalves, Liggins, Gomez and Winfield each added a three-pointer. EP tossed in 13 three-pointers for the game. The Townies also hit on 8 of 10 free throw attempts.

The Townies take on LaSalle in a Division I quarterfinal match on Tuesday, February 21st at 5 p.m. at LaSalle in Providence. Tuesday’s winner moves on to the semi-finals on Thursday at North Kingstown high school. The Townies played at LaSalle in December, falling short in a one-point loss. "We're healthy and anything can happen," said coach Andrade.