Milestone was a bit of a relief for Graham, Portsmouth boys basketball

No matter the circumstance, points were always going to come in the flow of the game for Cody Graham.

Jim Mulvey never wanted the Portsmouth High School boys basketball team to alter its offense to get his junior guard closer to the 1,000-point plateau.

And in the last two years, when the Clippers have beaten teams by wider-than-wide margins, Graham hasn't remained in games, trying to pad his stats.

So when he finally eclipsed the milestone last Tuesday against Merrimack, it wasn't just a relief for Graham, but a satisfying feeling for his team.

"He's a great kid and the team was so happy for him," Mulvey said of Graham. "That's a sign of what kind of kid he is. The team was happier than he was.

"The great thing about him getting to a thousand points is that it's always been in the flow of the game, it's always been against competition. Last year, he sat probably 10 games in the second half because we were winning by a lot. If we're winning by 25 or 30 points, it's other guys' turn to go in. He got the points when it counts and he's been great for us."

Going into the game, which the Clippers won 62-51, Graham needed 11 points to reach the milestone and that's exactly what he got, scoring on an off-balance shot from the left of the basket late in the fourth quarter.

"I see the shot pretty clearly," Graham said. "I was fading away on the left side and as soon as it went in, it was just relief that I made it to this milestone. It was just a great feeling, it's fantastic.

"Going through my mind, it was just play my game, get to the rim, take open shots, feed other people. I wasn't trying to force 11 points, I was just playing the game."

And with it out of the way, Graham can focus on the rest of the season.

"Now that it's done, just go game by game and keep racking it up," he said.