Portsmouth boys basketball holds off Manchester Central to reach D1 final

DURHAM - The Portsmouth High School boys basketball team has played the same kind of defense for several years.

But if the Clippers were going to get past Manchester Central in the Division I semifinals Wednesday night, coach Jim Mulvey felt his team was going to have to make an adjustment.

The changes worked, as No. 1 Portsmouth was able to keep No. 5 Central from getting to the basket consistently in the first half and made just enough plays down the stretch for a 50-45 win over the Little Green at the University of New Hampshire. The Clippers will now face No. 11 Dover in the championship game at noon Saturday, Portsmouth's fourth consecutive final appearance.

"I don’t care what you do, just as long as you give a great effort, you’re going to go home and feel OK," Mulvey said of what he told the team. "Our kids just battled. We’ve had some great teams, but this team, I don’t know. I don’t know if they’re as talented as any of the ones in the past, but they play hard. (Central) is one hard team to play.

"We said whoever hit 50 would win the game. They grind, they’re a defensive team. They don’t let you run your stuff, and when you can’t run your sets, it’s really hard. Credit to them."

When the teams had met in the first game of the regular season, the Little Green won convincingly, putting up 63 points on the Clippers, the most they allowed all season.

Portsmouth (18-2) tried to play a zone defense for the first time in a long time that night, but for the rematch, Mulvey opted to stick with a man-to-man defense that sagged into the paint more than the Clippers are used to playing.

"We usually play a lot more extended then we do against this team," he said. "We like to get in people’s faces, but not against this team because they’re too quick. Last time we played them, we played a zone and I don’t think we’ve played a zone in like 10 years. We had to because they’re so quick. They’re all drivers and once they get to the basket, it’s trouble, so our kids just packed it in. I think that was the key."

Alex Tavares had a big game for the Clippers, as he scored a game-high 23 points, including 17 of Portsmouth's 25 points in the first half. Cody Graham added 10 points, five rebounds and a big steal in the final 20 seconds with the Clippers leading by six.

In the final minute, Central (15-6) was rolling the ball up court on inbounds passes, and after watching it a couple of times, Graham caught the Little Green by surprise by diving for one. Central's Antoine Revere bobbled the ball and Graham corralled it on the ground and called a timeout.

Max Lincoln then hit two free throws on the next possession to give Portsmouth a 50-42 lead.

"He was picking it up as I got to it and actually fumbled it for a second, but then I was able to grab it and get a timeout," Graham said. "After that, I as pretty hyped up. If they hit a 3, it’s a (three)-point game. When I jumped on it, I thought if we hit two free throws, we’re up eight instead. I’m glad I went for it and ended up with it."

Revere finished with 11 points for the Little Green while Yansel Reyes had a team-high 12 points. Eric Cortijo-Rodriguez added 10 points and Kyler Bosse finished with eight points and eight rebounds.

But Central struggled from the field, shooting 32.1 percent on the night, including 7 of 29 in the first half.

"It was a tough first half," Central coach Dave Keefe said. "When you shoot like that, it’s tough. They did a nice job jamming the middle on us. We just didn’t have that one prolific scorer that could get us out of it. In the second half, we did a better job getting to the basket, trying to create contact and getting to the foul like. These kids never quit."

Portsmouth led 8-4 after one quarter, with Tavares scoring all eight points. A 12-5 run to open the second quarter gave the Clippers a 20-9 lead before Central started to find ways to get to the basket.

The Little Green cut the lead to 25-16 at halftime, but Portsmouth went up 32-18 early in the third and held a 12-point lead going into the fourth.

And that's when Central started to come back, going on an 8-0 to start the fourth and make it a four-point game on a three-point play by Reyes with 5:42 to play. Calvin Hewett scored for Portsmouth to stop the run, but Reyes hit a 3 to make it a 40-37 game with 4:38 remaining.

But that was as close as Central could get, as the Clippers went 7 of 8 at the free throw line in the final minute to put the game away.