Portsmouth Trojans 2023-24

[trojandave]

Portsmouth pushed its record to 4-0 for the 1st time since 2015 with a convincing 65-47 win at Gallia Academy. The Trojans sprinted to a 12-1 lead, but Gallia pulled to within 2 at the end of the 1st quarter. PHS led 34-24 at the half, then gradually pulled away from the Devils in the 4th. DeAndre Berry accomplished a rare feat, scoring 31 points which was the 2nd consecutive game going back to back 30 point efforts. Berry is averaging 25 PPG. He has scored 786 points so far in his career at PHS. Malachi Loper has scored near 700 which includes his first 2 years at Portsmouth Clay.

Donnovan Breech scored 18, and is averaging 14 PPG. Malachi Loper chipped in 8. PHS is not a 1 man team, as 4 of the starters so far this season have scored in double figures. Breech (28 and 18), Loper (19), Isaiah Lewis (12), and Berry (18, 24, 30, and 31).

The Portsmouth JV raised their record to 2-2, which tops their win total of last season (1-18). The freshmen team is 2-0.

With the win at Gallia Academy, it marks the #1,500th win in PHS history (1,500--830). Currently Portsmouth ranks around 10th in all time wins in Ohio.

Portsmouth will come home to Trojan Arena to face Coal Grove on Tuesday, followed by a home game vs. Dayton Stivers on Friday.

[trojandave]

Portsmouth stayed undefeated with a 87-62 win at home over Coal Grove. PHS led 15-2 at the start, led 43-30 at the half, then pushed the lead to as much as 30 points after the break. DeAndre Berry continued his torrid scoring pace, as he notched 36 points for his 3rd consecutive game of scoring at least 30 points. Berry now has 822 points in his career. Malachi Loper added 12 to push his career total past 700. Noah Livingston had his best game offensively with 10 points, while Donnovan Breech scored 8, and PG Isaiah Lewis pitched in 7. Luke Stine and LeVaughn Cobb came off the bench to score 11 points combined.

PHS had 51 points by players not named DeAndre Berry. The Trojans have proven that they are not a one man team, as Loper and Breech both have had multiple games in double figures. Portsmouth is now 5-0 on the season and 3-0 in the OVC.

Back to Berry, the record for most 30+ games in Trojan history is held by Damond Mannon(1991-1992) and Kyre Allison (2014-2016) with 6 each. Berry has 3 so far, and the way he is playing, seems like a lock to top that record. No opponent to date has been able to contain him, as he is averaging a whopping 27.8 PPG, with the fewest he scored being 18 vs. Lawrence County. If Berry maintains this pace, he will break the single season record for PPG, which is held by Larry Hisle in 1965 with 25.5. This record takes into account a full season of basketball. Damond Mannon averaged 26.5 in 1992, but for personal reasons not injury related did not finish his senior year. Tory Horne averaged 25.7 PPG in the 2009 season, but did not play a full season that was not injury related.

For Coal Grove, the Hornets were led by Owen Johnson who tallied around 25 points after scoring 39 vs. the Trojans last season. CG starts several underclassmen, including Johnson, and going forward the rest of this year and next season will be very competitive in the OVC.

[biggdowgg]

Portsmouth is ranked 5th in Division 3 ,and 16 overall in Ohio.


Off to a really good start

[PTrojan59]

Thought the Trojans looked really good for 3 quarters against Providence Christian (GA). 4th quarter they seem to let up a bit, and had too many turnovers overall. Breech & Berry both with nice offensive games. A nice win to add to the resume though. Trojans now sit at 6-0 with big game next week.

[trojandave]

The Trojans are now 6-0 with an 77-69 win over Providence Christian (GA) in the Ironton Classic. PHS put 3 players in double figures, DeAndre Berry with 25, Donnovan Breech with 27, and Malachi Loper added 17. Portsmouth led 40-29 at the half, then extended the lead to as much as 20 very early in the 4th quarter before Providence rallied to within 75-69 with under a minute to play. As PTrojan59 said, PHS made some turnover late and combined with some poor FT shooting allowed PC to make the Trojans sweat out the victory. The Trojans did allow a few too many 3's in that 4 quarter as well.

Overall, though, not only were the Trojans impressive in their win, but there were a lot of positive comments from non-affiliated fans about Portsmouth's team. One in particular that caught my ear was a coach who said that he's seen more talented Trojan teams, but this team played as a team and he was very high on his view of PHS. Credit to the coaching staff for getting these kids to play team basketball. Once again, the Trojans put 3 players in double figures, and anybody who watched the game now knows PHS is not just a DeAndre Berry show. Berry was named the game's MVP. PHS actually did well when Berry went to the bench a couple of times with foul trouble. What really sticks out about DeAndre is his all around game.....it's not just how many points he scores. He plays unselfish basketball.

Providence Christian was led by Thacker with 33 points, with most of them coming in the 2nd half as he warmed up from the 3 point line.

GO TROJANS!! Wheelersburg next Friday, and there's a change in the starting time.......5 PM for the JV game, 6:30 for the varsity.......this was done to accomodate Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl which starts at 8:00 PM.

[trojandave]

Going into the season, 4 starters were pretty much set. Malachi Loper has proven to be the perfect fit for that 5th starting slot. He plays with few mistakes and is a very capable scorer. He plays total team basketball.

Donnovan Breech is a player who for 2 long years waited his turn to make a splash on the varsity team, and he has responded with great all around play in addition to having games of 28 and 27 points.

Isaiah Lewis is very similar to Breech.....he showed a lot of patience to become the starting PG rather than transfer to another school, and now he is a vital part of this team.

Noah Livingston is as good a rebounder for his size as anybody in the SE District. Almost a given for double digit boards and his finishing around the basket is much better this year.

Props to Luke Stine and LeVaughn Cobb, who have come off the bench and given Coach Lisath some solid minutes.

[pfloyd]

Going into the season, 4 starters were pretty much set. Malachi Loper has proven to be the perfect fit for that 5th starting slot. He plays with few mistakes and is a very capable scorer. He plays total team basketball.

Donnovan Breech is a player who for 2 long years waited his turn to make a splash on the varsity team, and he has responded with great all around play in addition to having games of 28 and 22 points.

Isaiah Lewis is very similar to Breech.....he showed a lot of patience to become the starting PG rather than transfer to another school, and now he is a vital part of this team.

Noah Livingston is as good a rebounder for his size as anybody in the SE District. Almost a given for double digit boards and his finishing around the basket is much better this year.

Props to Luke Stine and LeVaughn Cobb, who have come off the bench and given Coach Lisath some solid minutes.

... watching this edition of the Trojans I noticed the TEAM mentality on the court, also see much improved fundamentals - dribbling, passing, being in position to rebounding, handling pressure, shooting the ball ... Berry is "a player" size, thick bodied, when he goes to the rim - he's getting his shot ... I was impressed with his passing/seeing the floor & finding "that guy" ... looked like he had 4-5 assists vs Providence Christian - the dime he through from over half court for a layup, and the behind the back width of the court pass to the opposite corner were outstanding ... PHS is a solid TEAM this season ... only to get better as the season rolls on ...

[basketballmind]

What is this year’s teams ceiling do we think? I’d be curious to hear everyone’s opinion.

[biggdowgg]

I keep seeing people on here and Facebook the trojans don't play defense.

Per Trojan Dave, we average 64 points a game,and give up 56 .

Without the low scoring Notre Dame game to start the season,it was ,74 scoring,57 giving up

[basketballmind]

I believe the Trojans defense is massively underrated! Could end up being a strong point for them if they continue to harness it.

[biggdowgg]

I believe the Trojans defense is massively underrated! Could end up being a strong point for them if they continue to harness it.

I agree

[trojandave]

basketballmind: You asked in an earlier post about the ceiling for the Trojans.......I predicted before the season 15-7 as the low for PHS, and 18-4 as the ceiling. At 6-0 right now, they would only have to go 9-7 the rest of the way to get to 15-7. I think they will get past 15 wins. What I've seen so far in the Trojans is a team that plays as a team. Portsmouth has had many teams more talented. What stands out about these Trojans is their unselfish play, and it's evident that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.

This could turn out to be a very special team, and you can already see Coach Lisath's fingerprints on them by the way they play, not only on offense but the defensive side of the court as well.

Portsmouth hasn't started a season 7-0 since the 1991 Regional Final team that won their first 8 games before falling to Dayton Dunbar 96-93 in OT.

PHS hasn't won a sectional since 2017, a district since 2015, and a regional since 2012. It's still early, but I feel this team can win a very good OVC and make a tournament run that we haven't seen for a while.

[Jussmypinion]

This could turn out to be a very special team, and you can already see Coach Lisath's fingerprints on them by the way they play, not only on offense but the defensive side of the court as well.

Portsmouth hasn't started a season 7-0 since the 1991 Regional Final team that won their first 8 games before falling to Dayton Dunbar 96-93 in OT.

PHS hasn't won a sectional since 2017, a district since 2015, and a regional since 2012. It's still early, but I feel this team can win a very good OVC and make a tournament run that we haven't seen for a while.

Great stats! 20 win season looks to be doable. Is 1991 the year Jay White moved back to Dayton Dunbar? I vaguely remember that year, Mills drained the corner trey ball to take it to OT, or am I mistaken.
I remember the gym being packed night after night in 1991. Our student section, must've consisted of the entire student body minus cheerleaders and the basketball team. I've noticed on the live streams, the community is turning out for the team this season. It's always good to see that. Lyce's return is bigger than basketball. The comradery, his leadership demands and the willingness of the community to support his vision is something PHS has needed for a long time. He needs to be in the building, walking the hallways, daily. I feel he's capable of reaching and teaching so many more students, outside of basketball season. I've seen how receptive of the prayer circle the team and fans are. I look forward to seeing someone post a photo or article about it after every game. My heart fills with joy, when I see it.

[trojandave]

Jussmypinion: Very good post yourself!! I have a special feeling about these Trojans......don't know how it's going to play out, but I really like what I've seen thus far.

Coach Lisath's goal is to relocate to Portsmouth, and that is most likely sooner than later. In the meantime, though, he has already built some strong relationships with his players. His prayer circle has had opposing teams and fans in the stands participating. He has filled the locker room with plaques highlighting individual players who accomplished a stand out moment in their careers. One thing that I am really impressed with is how the coaching staff dresses. The best dressed coaching staff that I've seen so far. Suits and ties in an era that it is very rare to see that.

Jeff's goal is to win another state championship, and he will not believe that it can't be done again at PHS.

I can't remember who made the shot to send the Dunbar game to OT, but I do remember that TJ White's 3 pointer at the buzzer barely missed and DD got the 3 point win. Packed gym with the temperature close to 90 degrees. Dunbar had a really tough team that year.

[trojandave]

Portsmouth hasn't had a winning season since 2018, when the Trojans posted a 16-8 record. This year's team has a great chance to top that mark. The last PHS team to win 20 games was the 2015 season which ended 20-7 with a regional final appearance (lost to Columbus Eastmoor 49-45). Portsmouth went 19-5 in 2014 (lost to Valley 58-55 in the district championship on a Chris Flowers buzzer beating 3 pointer).

As many as 15 times so far in 6 games have the Trojans had a player score in double figures.

[trojandave]

Wheelersburg jumped out to a 21-12 lead, and Portsmouth couldn't get closer than 7 points the rest of the way as the Pirates used a big 4th quarter to beat PHS 68-51 @WHS. Devin Lattimore had 25 points and Braylan Rucker had 18, mostly on 3's. Even though it was a poor performance by Portsmouth, the Trojans were only down 8 going into the last 8 minutes. Portsmouth is now 6-1 on the season and host Chesapeake on Friday followed by a trip to Ironton on Tuesday 1/9. The Pointers of SP will come to Trojan Arena on 1/12.

With the loss, PHS still leads the overall series vs. Wheelersburg 24-23. The Trojans are 5-4 vs. the Pirates in tournament play.

DeAndre Berry scored 23 to lead PHS, while Donovan Breech had another good game with 16. The PHS JV scored only 2 points in the 2nd half and were routed by the Burg JV 52-24. JV record now 2-4.

[PTrojan59]

Trojans didn’t play very well at Burg, think they are definitely capable of playing with Burg. Berry shot a lot, wasn’t falling like they have in the past but still scored a nice amount. Trojans will need to tighten up the defense a bit, get after those second chance balls and not just throw up shots. Nice crowd on hand last night though.

[trojandave]

PTrojan59: Good point about Portsmouth being able to play with Wheelersburg. As poorly as the Trojans played, it was only an 8 point game going into the 4th quarter. WHS deserved the win and was the better team, but I'm confident that if these two met in the tournament, it could be a different outcome.

[callie15]

No, same results.

[trojandave]

Did some additional research into Portsmouth's all time record, and along the way found out an amazing stat........PHS passed the 1,500 win mark earlier this season (vs. Gallia Academy), but I have found records from 1908, 1914, and 1915, which totaled 19 wins and 17 losses. So that would put the Trojans at 1,521 wins, 848 losses, which would be almost 700 games above .500. Even with the struggles of the past 5 seasons (no winning seasons), that's still a remarkable record to be that many games above the .500 mark.

Portsmouth continues to be the last SE district school to win a game in the Final 4. Portsmouth defeated Ottawa-Glandorf in the 2012 D3 semifinals 74-66 as Wayne Evans and Jayllen Carter combined for 45 points. PHS lost the championship game to Cincinnati Summit Country Day 53-37.

Since that year, 7 SE schools have made the Final 4......Fairland, Sheridan, Lynchburg Clay, Waverly, New Boston, Ironton, and Warren. All have lost in the semifinal game. Ironton came the closest to winning, losing their D3 2013 semifinal game to Ottawa-Glandorf by 1 point.