EAST PROVIDENCE — Following a rare, mid-season week off, the East Providence High School boys’ basketball team returned to action late last week with a trip to Coventry where the Townies defeated the host Knotty Oakers, 63-57, in a Division I contest.
EPHS, somewhat expectedly considering the time off, started the game slowly against sub-.500 Coventry (5-8 in D-I). The score was tied at halftime, 29-29, before the Townies pulled ahead slightly and eventually went on to earn the six-point victory. East Providence improved to 7-4 in league play at the time.
R.J. Pina led three locals in double-figures with a team-best 19 points for the Townies. He went 7-for-7 at the free throw line, including a couple down the stretch to help secure the win. Zach Russell had the range from behind the 3-point arc, going 5-for-5 from long range to finish with 17. Justin Pena added a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Also, junior forward Rafael Ximenes grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds in his first start of the season for the locals.

Girls’ hoops
Visiting Portsmouth defeated the EPHS girls’ basketball team 52-40 in the first league outing of last week for the Townies. The Patriots took control of the contest in the first half, taking a 31-17 lead to the break. Kayla Hannon led EPHS with 12 points. Savannah Feola had 11, Makiah Denson eight and Arianna Soares seven.
The Townies concluded last week with a trip to Pawtucket to meet one of the league-leading sides, St. Raphael, falling to the host Saints by an 85-30 score. St. Ray’s raced to a commanding 38-14 lead by intermission. Denson led the locals with 14 points.

Swimming
The EPHS girls’ swimmers met Toll Gate in the teams’ lone meet last week, a female-only outing, with the Titans defeating the locals 57-35. The E.P. girls slipped to 3-3 in the dual meet standings with the loss. Christina-Marie Capobianco won two individual events for the Townies, clocking a 28.87 in the 50 yard freestyle and a 1:09.15 in the 100 free. She also swam a leg of the winning EPHS 400 relay (2:41.95) with Raissa Luu, Shelby Enos and Elke Jones. Enos added the other solo win on the day for the locals with a time of 2:41.95 in the 200 free.

Hockey
The Moses Brown/EPHS co-op boys’ hockey club played a rare midweek game to open recent action, a make-up contest against Smithfield that was postponed due to inclement weather. The Sentinels kept the locals winless in Division I play with a 6-1 decision. E.P. senior goalie Cole LaValley was credited with 33 saves as Smithfield outshot the Quakers 43-19. Last weekend, the locals dropped a 4-1 decision to Mount St. Charles. MB/EPHS fell to 0-10-1 in the league standings at the time of the losses.

Wrestling
The EPHS wrestling team picked up a pair of Division I wins last week, including an outing against Pilgrim 63-16 over the host Patriots in Warwick and a 48-21 decision over visiting Cranston East.
Against Pilgrim, Sean Sullivan won by pin at 106 pounds. William Silva, at 120, won by decision, 10-7. Jacob Poore, at 138, won his bout by pin at 2:28 of the second period. At 145, Jacob Francis earned the pinfall at 4:38 of the third as Kyle Xavier at 195 at 5:28 of the final period. All of the Townies’ other points came by forfeit. The Patriots won actual matches, one by pin and the other by decision. Pilgrim also was awarded a forfeit.
Against the Thunderbolts, Francis again won by pin at 195, late in the second period (3:53). Poore earned a 14-11 decision at 138. Lucas Bianco, at 160, also won by decision, 4-2. And Kianu Duarte pinned his opponent at 220, 1:21 into the first period. The Townies also received three forfeits.

Indoor track
The EPHS boys’ and girls’ indoor track and field teams competed in their respective Class A and Large Class championship meets February 8 at the Providence Career and Tech Academy Fieldhouse, each side recording a single point with sixth-place finishes.
Freshman Jahad Davis-Pinto covered 19 feet, 7 inches to place sixth in the boys’ long jump, won with a distance of 20’9.25” by Pilgrim junior Justin Dorsey. Likewise, junior Jasmine DosSanto threw 41’10.5” to finish sixth in the girls’ weight throw. Classical senior Cheyenne Figueroa won the event with a 61’10.5.”
At the freshmen state meet held earlier last week at the PCTA Fieldhouse, Davis Pinto provided all the points for the EPHS boys with 17.5. The winner of the long jump at the Metropolitan Division meet the week prior, he placed second at freshmen states with a distance of 18’8.5.” Smithfield’s Elijah Saddlemire won the event with a 19’3.75.” The impressive Townie rookie was also runner-up in the 55 dash, clocking a 6.66. LaSalle’s Jared Gibbons nipped Davis Pinto at the line, winning in 6.84. Davis Pinto collected the other 1.5 points by sharing fifth in the high jump on attempts at 5’2.” LaSalle’s Brady Fisher won the event with a height of 5’8.” LaSalle won the team title with 87 points. Hendricken was second with 86 and St. Raphael third with 33.