Portsmouth boys basketball uses size, youth to help get win over Londonderry

PORTSMOUTH – Coming into the season, freshmen Derek Swartz and Finn McCauley figured to have big roles in helping to determine if the Portsmouth High School boys basketball would have a chance at competing at the top of the Division I standings.

The frontcourt duo have done more than just fill into the lineup, as they’ve been vital cogs for a Portsmouth squad that has spent the majority of the season alone in first place.

Swartz and McCauley set the tone early for Portsmouth in Tuesday night’s game against Londonderry as they combined for 23 first-half points and the Clippers cruised toward a 75-52 victory inside Stone Gymnasium.

“I feel we kind of expected going into this summer, we were here during all of our workouts and going as hard as we could and I feel like we kind of earned all this,” Swartz said. “We definitely fit in perfectly. Us, we just have perfect chemistry. We’re best friends on the court and off the court.”

Swartz finished with a team-high 18 points and helped Portsmouth break open the game when the Clippers outscored Londonderry 23-8 in the second quarter to take a 42-26 halftime lead. He opened the second with a jumper, added a putback and a pair of 3-pointers.

He’s second on the team in scoring (16.5 PPG) behind Isaiah Reis (20.5 PPG) and is averaging over nine rebounds per game. Reis scored 17 points on Tuesday while Swartz’s older brother, Ryan, chipped in with 13 points.

“Derek can do it all,” Portsmouth coach Jon Mulvey said. “He can take it to the basket, he can hit shots, take 3s and he passes pretty well. He can score from all three levels. He does well defensively, getting into passing lanes in transition. For a freshman, he’s doing pretty well.”

McCauley (11 points) changes the complexity of Portsmouth’s game when he brings his 6-foot-6 inch frame off the bench. He immediately made a difference with a pair of putbacks that gave Portsmouth a 19-18 lead entering the second quarter.

“We have such a luxury, Finn comes in off the bench and gives great energy and great intensity,” Mulvey said. "He affects the game defensively with his length and his size and also just pounds the glass. We were struggling getting rebounds to start the game, then he comes in and gets all the rebounds and takes up a lot of space.”

McCauley has embraced his role as Portsmouth’s first man off the bench and he also showed some range when he drilled a 3-pointer to give Portsmouth 28-20 lead midway through the second quarter.

“I normally do a lot of work on the defensive end but I know I can score on the offensive end and it’s all about my confidence,” McCauley said. “We (McCauley and Derek Swartz) knew we were good coming into the season but it’s all about adapting to high school sports. We play AAU together, we know each other in-and-out and we play well together.”

Londonderry coach Jared Piecuch was left impressed with Portsmouth’s freshmen duo. Mason Paquette scored a game-high 27 points for Londonderry (8-6).

“We were a little surprised when Finn came out and hit a corner 3 because he hasn’t done a lot of that this year,” Piecuch said. “They’re a matchup nightmare and for 14-year old kids they’re polished so much athletically.”

Mulvey felt like road losses at the end of January to Nashua South (10-4) and Keene (10-4) provided some good lessons. The Clippers are in first place ahead of Bedford (12-2) and Exeter (11-3) heading into Friday’s road game at Windham (8-6).

“We have no seniors, so for a lot of these guys it was the first time playing in those games,” Mulvey said. “You never want to lose, but we learned a lot from those losses.”