It's been a proverbial rollercoaster of a season for the East Providence High School boys' basketball team so far in 2023-24.

The Townies have followed so-so start to their Division I slate with a five-game winning streak then a three-game losing skid, which culminated on January 23 with a gut-wrenching home loss to Westerly. But the locals closed out last week by ending their slide with a solid road win over Woonsocket.

Turn the page to this week and East Providence welcomed the league's unbeaten pace-setter to the city as Classical visited the Townies on Tuesday night, Jan. 30.

And after a slow start, the Purple showed exactly why they have yet to be beaten. The guests ran roughshod over the locals in the third quarter, turning a one-point halftime deficit into a 12-point lead en route to a commanding 77-60 win.

The Townies closed out the month with a 7-6 record in league games while Classical improved to 14-0.

Asked for his overall impressions of the first-place Purple, EPHS head coach Joe Andrade said, "They've got five guys who can score, who can shoot, who are athletic. They're physical. One through five, they're the best team. Can another team give them problems? Yeah, but right now they're the best I've seen. Do I think a LaSalle (10-1 league record), a Barrington (10-1) or a Hendricken (9-3) could five them a problem? Yeah, but no one has given them a problem yet."

Westerly notes

EP's recent streak of losses reached three after the Townies suffered a last-second 65-62 loss to visiting Westerly Wednesday night, Jan. 24.

East Providence and the Bulldogs remained close throughout most of the night. Antonio Varela made a rare appearance off the Townie bench, draining a 3-pointer to put the locals up 15-12 late in the first quarter. He was actually fouled on the missed but missed the free throw. Westerly leveled the score with a 3 of its own before the end of the period.

East Providence would eventually take a 30-25 lead to the intermission, helped in part by back-to-back dunks by Kenaz Ochgwu early in the second quarter. Westerly responded with a surge in the third quarter to take a slim 43-42 lead at the end of the third.

The game remained tight until the waning moments when the Townies tied the score on a Christian Torres drive to the hoop with just under 10 seconds to play. However, the Bulldogs hit a deep 3 from the right hash mark about 30 feet out at the buzzer to earn the victory.

Ochgwu, the Townies' center, continued his superb senior season with 20 points and eight rebounds. Tyler Gomez finished with 12 points and Torres 11.

"It's a game you think you should've had," Andrade said of the last-second loss to the Bulldogs. "Now we have to go try to find a game to get somewhere else like pick up a win against a North Kingstown or a Narragansett or Cranston East. But those games are always tough, especially on the road."

Woonsocket notes

The Townies, however, did snap their skid in their next outing, a gutsy 64-48 road win over Woonsocket Friday night, Jan. 26. East Providence opened up an early 13-point lead before the host Villa Novans answered to tie the score at 22 by intermission.

The locals, though, broke the game open with a 23-7 run in the third quarter to lead 45-29 heading into the final 18 minutes. Ochgwu seven in the spree. Franklin Lopez had five, including a 3, and Levi Jacobs four.

Jacobs led the Townies with a night-best 18 points. He had 10 alone in the first quarter. Ochgwu had 15, Torres eight, Gomez seven and Brandyn Van Wagner seven.

"We played well as a team in the second half. Kenaz and Levi played well the whole game," Andrade of the away win over the Novans.

Classical notes

The Townies opened up an 8-2 lead to begin the game with Classical as the visitors missed their first handful of attempts from the floor. EP would later lead 13-4 on a Torres triple, but the Purple finally found the range. The visitors closed the first on an 11-3 run to trail 18-15 at the end of the opening period.

Cracks in the Townies' performance started to show in the second quarter. The locals got a little loose with the ball and started missing some shots, while their guests continued to find their footing. The Purple scored six of the last eight points of the half to trail 31-30 heading to the locker room.

Classical put it all together in the third period. The Purple ran their offensive sets near perfectly, managed the ball well and put the clamps down defensively. Meanwhile, the mistakes piled up for East Providence and their offensive execution evaporated.

The teams traded hoops to begin the third before Classical gradually pulled away. EP's last lead proved to be 38-35 on a Jacobs' drive. The Purple made a 3 to tie it then took their first lead, 40-38, on a short jumper from the baseline with just under two minutes played.

Moving in front was part of a 14-0 spree for the visitors, which concluded with just over three minutes to go in the quarter at Classical built its first double figure edge, 49-38, on a putback of a miss. A Gomez jumper from the baseline made the score 54-42 going into the fourth.

After Torres made a layup for the locals to begin the final period, the Purple just methodically added to their lead. It reached a night high of 19 for the first of two times after Classical made a pair of free throws to make it 65-46 midway through the quarter. A Jacobs layup with a couple minutes left brought EP back to within 13, 70-57, but the locals could get no closer.

"I thought the difference was transition defense, they can make shots, we missed a lot of layups and free throws," Andrade said of Classical's rally.

He continued, "They made shots and we didn't. This is how they've been all year. They get down, they stay close then they break it open. You know they're going to have a run. They're too good not to go on a run, but we couldn't stop it. They're good and they have a lot of experience."

Gomez and Jacobs shared team-best scoring honors with 14 points each. Torres added 11 and Ochgwu had nine. Lopez had six. Derrell Liggins and Jaydason Barros each made a 3 off the EP bench.

Up next

The Townies are set to place twice more this week when they travel to North Kingstown Thursday night, Feb. 1, for a Division I contest at 7 p.m. then travel to play a league matinee Saturday afternoon at 1 on the road against Cranston East.

East Providence has an addition two D-I contests on the docket next week, remaining on the road Wednesday, Feb. 7, for a game in Narragansett at 7 p.m. before returning home to face East Greenwich Friday night, Feb. 9, at 6 o'clock.

— East Providence Post and eastbayri.com contributing photographer Julie Furtado shot the accompanying gallery of photos.