Defense, expectations drove Portsmouth boys basketball to its third straight championship

Going scoreless for almost six minutes in the fourth quarter of a championship game is not typically a recipe for success, but this whole year was a little bit different for the Portsmouth High School boys basketball team.

After going undefeated for two years in a row, winning a title in Division II before moving up to do the same in Division I last season, the Clippers not only had to replace three all-state-level players, they had to find a different way to do it this season.

So after being able to outscore every opponent with a potent offense, Portsmouth's focus went back to what got it to the upper echelon of the New Hampshire basketball world in the first place - defense.

When the Clippers suddenly found themselves struggling to score in the fourth quarter of Saturday's Division I championship game against Dover, they were still able to maintain their lead thanks to their ability to defend.

"Defense, that’s what it always been," Portsmouth coach Jim Mulvey said. "You get up in these places, the ball doesn’t go in the basket. I thought our defense down the stretch was incredible. They wanted to go fast but they’re taking 15 or 18 seconds to get a shot off. You can’t do anything better than that."

While Portsmouth (19-2) was attempting just seven field goals in the fourth quarter, it was also limiting Dover to just 20 percent shooting from the field over the final eight minutes. That, and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch helped the Clippers wrap up a 46-38 win.

Despite the program's history as a defense-first team under Mulvey, the season didn't start off on the right foot for Portsmouth. In the first game of the regular season, the Clippers win streak went up in smoke in a 63-46 loss at Manchester Central.

It ended up as the most points Portsmouth allowed all season, and only one of three times an opponent would reach 60.

"It’s all the hard work we put in this season," Portsmouth junior Alex Tavares said. "Our first game against Central, we were the worst defensive team in this league. We came out and defended. I trust the guys and they trust me, and that’s what mattered."

That trust helped Portsmouth in its semifinal win, a rematch with Central. Instead of playing up on a team that Mulvey felt was more athletic, the Clippers stayed in their man-to-man defense, but played off the ball more, packing the paint.

"We’ve been playing the same defense, I mean I have for the last four years," Portsmouth senior Cody Graham said. "Everyone on this team has since December and to change in three or four days, executing the way we did, it shows how good of a coach Coach Mulvey is and how these kids do their jobs."

Mulvey, who recently announced he'd be taking a leave of absence from coaching for at least a year, saw a team this season that didn't want to be the one to let Portsmouth's run of success come to an end.

"Winning breeds winning," he said. "Different names, but same expectations. We’re still going to play the same way. I don’t know if we’re going to win a lot of games, but we’re going to play hard and by the end of the year, we’re going to be way better, no matter what. It takes the players, and their time and effort."

After having the same core of players for a couple of years - practices were reportedly down to just 45 minutes at the end of 2017 - the coaches were spending a lot more time in practice with this year's group.

"We’re still having two, maybe even two-and-a-half hour practices, getting these young kids ready," Graham said after the semifinal win over Central. "It’s time consuming and it takes a lot of mental power for our team to buy into this process. It’s working for us right now."

And it worked well enough to keep Portsmouth at the top of Division I for at least one more year.