‘A long ride’

The Johnston boys basketball team’s season came to a close last Friday night when it fell in the opening round of the open state tourney 58-54 to host East Providence. The Townies trailed until the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and would complete the big comeback win to advance to the Elite Eight.
NeAri Vasquez led the Panthers with 17 points scored while Jayden Testa added 13.
The loss ends a remarkable run by the Panthers, who will be seeing a large crop of seniors graduate, including Vasquez, Branden and Jayden Testa, Mike Carlino and Cam Walker. This core was also key in the Panthers winning their first title since 1996 when they pulled off the win last year before returning to the semifinals this time around.
“It was very emotional after the East Providence game. Some of it was because we lost, but most of it was because they knew it would be their last time playing with each other. Playing with our staff and vice versa. This is the last of the core group of ‘my guys,’” said Johnston coach Mike Bedrosian. “I came up in the high school with them, I was the JV coach when they were freshmen, we went through the pandemic together. We went through a lot. It’s been a long ride with these guys.”
With championship heroes Derek Salvatore, Anthony Corsinetti and Camani Batista graduating last year, this year’s seniors had added responsibility in keeping this year’s roster in contention, and it did just that as it returned to the state tournament once again.
“We have a lot of great memories with that championship team. That was one of the best nights we ever had and one of the best nights our program has ever seen. I’m proud of them. A lot of those guys had to step into different roles this year. Mike had to fill Derek’s role and he met those expectations, he exceeded them. Jayden coming off an injury, doing what he did. We knew our offense was going to go through NeAri, he had a few big games for us. Cam was a three-year starter, Branden, I expected these guys to take that leadership role and right the ship,” said Bedrosian.
The Panthers will now flip the page to 2024-25 and will be looking for some young guys to step up and emerge as contributors. Andy Villa will be one of the few upperclassmen on the roster, so Bedrosian will be looking to him as a leader.
“We’re going to be young, we’re going to be inexperienced. We have the capabilities to be competitive. Andy Villa is going to be our leader and the last part of that championship team,” said Bedrosian. “It’s a big summer for him and he’s going to be a big part of what we want to accomplish next year.”