> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Portsmouth cruises past Bedford to win D2 basketball title - URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/portsmouth-cruises-past-bedford-to-win-d2-basketball-title/ - Published: 2012-03-18T01:49:15.000Z - Updated: 2012-03-18T01:49:15.000Z - Description: DURHAM – Jim Mulvey didn’t know what was going to happen during Saturday’s Division II boys basketball championship game, but the Portsmouth High School coach had a good idea. - Author: Joe Marchilena - Tags: Division II, Winter Sports, Bedford, boys basketball, playoffs, Portsmouth, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/d2bballf031712-port3.jpg "D2bballF031712 Port3") DURHAM – Jim Mulvey didn’t know what was going to happen during Saturday’s Division II boys basketball championship game, but the Portsmouth High School coach had a good idea. Mulvey thought his Clippers would come out and play their game, and when they play their game, their hard to beat. Bedford found that out the hard way. No. 2 Portsmouth got out to an early lead, forced the fifth-seeded Bulldogs out of their zone defense in the second half and forced more than two dozen turnovers on the way to a 58-33 win at the University of New Hampshire. Kamahl Walker scored a game-high 22 points and added six steals for the Clippers (20-2), who pressured Bedford into making 27 turnovers, and despite being outrebounded, 32-28, Portsmouth’s front line held its own against the Bulldogs post players. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/d2bballf031712-p3-4.jpg "D2bballF031712 P3-4") “I left practice (Friday) and I was sure of what was going to happen,” Mulvey said. “I didn’t know how it was going to happen and I didn’t expect this score, but I knew we were going to play really well. I didn’t know if that would be good enough against Bedford.” It was more than enough, as the Clippers used a 10-0 run in the second quarter to take a 12-point lead at halftime and opened the second half with a 16-2 run that ended things before the final quarter was underway. “They put a lot of ball pressure on our guards and we had a hard time scoring,” Bedford coach John Langlois said. “We had to go to man-to-man (defense) in the second half or else they’re just going to hold the ball. At that point, they have their quickness and it’s which poison (do you pick) after that.” Bedford got 11 points from Cameron Meservey, but he was the only player to score in double figures for the Bulldogs (17-5). Trevor Fahmy added nine points and nine rebounds, but the rest of Bedford’s post players – Collin McManus, Roger Larrivee and Sam Thomas – combined for just six points. Gregg Tsougranis chipped in eight points for Portsmouth and Charlie Duprey had six points and eight rebounds, as nine different players scored for the Clippers. “Everyone we put in was incredible,” Mulvey said. “Our kids just played fantastic. Coaches only do so much, it’s the kids who win championships. They were perfect, it was incredible.” At the top of the list was Walker. The score was tied at 8 with 1:39 left in the first quarter, but a layup by Tsougranis and two free throws by Walker made it 12-8 in the final minute. With the clock winding down, Walker let fly a long 3-pointer, and as he fell to the ground, the ball found the bottom of the net. “When I took the shot, I didn’t see it go in,” he said. “I got knocked down, but the reaction, I knew it had to go in. It definitely boosted our confidence.” The Clippers ran off the first 1:07 of the second quarter by holding the ball, and another 3 by Walker made it a 10-point game. When Bedford switched to man-to-man defense to start the second half, Portsmouth took advantage, using its quickness to exploit the Bulldogs’ size. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/d2bballf031712-p23b44.jpg "D2bballF031712 P23B44") By the time the third quarter was halfway done, the Clippers’ lead had swelled to 20\. From the point the game was tied in the first quarter, Portsmouth outscored Bedford 34-8\. The Bulldogs ended the third with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 42-22, but it was too little, too late. “We did what we could with it and we tried two different things, but their pressure was tough, no question,” Langlois said. “I wasn’t surprised. That’s the way to play us. You don’t want us to play ping pong off the glass and get the ball inside. Between the ball pressure on the guards and the physicality of their big man, we couldn’t do it.” Taking away Bedford’s inside game was key for the Clippers. “I said to our guys if you let them play a high-low game, they’re going to beat you,” Mulvey said. “We never let anyone run what they want to run. That’s our No. 1 rule on defense. Help-side was the key. You can put all the pressure on, but when they got it to the big guys, our weak-side guard still dropped. They still couldn’t do much.” The win gives Portsmouth the most recent Division II title in both baseball and boys basketball, and the Clippers won the Division III football title last fall. The game was also the fourth time the two schools have met in a championship game. In 2010, Portsmouth defeated Bedford in the Class I baseball title game and last fall, the Clippers won their title at Bedford’s expense. In 2011, the Bedford girls tennis team won its first Division II title by beating Portmouth.