Portsmouth Trojans 2013-2014 Preview

[trojandave]

6-2 sophomore Kyre Allison has led the Trojans in scoring in 9 of the 10 games played. Allison's high game of the year was 25 vs. Liberty Christian Prep in the KSA championship in Florida. In 6 games, Kyre has tallied over 20 points. 6-0 junior Sky Oliver led PHS in scoring vs. Gallia Academy with 15 points, and followed that up with a 19 point effort vs. Piketon. 6-0 senior Isaiah Lisath scored 18 vs. Liberty Christian, while 6-3 freshman Kendall Reynolds posted 18 vs. Warren, and had 2 games of double digits in Florida. 6-2 junior Alex Dickerson pitched in 10 points vs. Piketon, including 2 three-pointers. In all, the Trojans have had 5 of the top 6 players that have scored double figures at some point of the season.

[trojandave]

Checked last night on the PHS game at Jackson........the game will be played on Thursday, Jan.30th. This is a makeup game from a postponed date in early December.

[trojandave]

Kyre Allison joined an exclusive club last night with his 32 point performance vs. Jackson........He joins a elite group of Trojans who have scored at least 30 points in a game.........I researched this topic and found dating back to 1954 that 47 times a Trojan scored at least 30 points in a game. Congratulations Kyre on joining this group!! He already has the highest point total for a freshman in a game with 26 points vs. Logan last year, tying Andrew Bendolph's mark.

The complete list of 30+ scorers can be found at www.trojanhoops.org.

[jottings]

trojandave...Need JV score to complete my standings. Thanks.

[trojandave]

Jottings: I wish I could give you the exact score, but I believe it was 56-36 in favor of Portsmouth.

[trojandave]

The complete list of games and scores for the 2013-2014 season can be found on page 3 of this thread.

[pfloyd]

... will get to see your Trojans Saturday at the Wellston get together ... my Logan Purple will take on that MLK club out of Cleveland that couldn't make it to Portsmouth to play your PHS boys a couple of weeks ago ... looking forward to getting my first "eye test" on the Trojans ... no Buckeye football games Saturday dave so you'll be at the games

[trojandave]

pfloyd: I will be there Saturday, Lord willing, and weather permitting (forecast looks okay). I will also be there before the Trojans to watch your Chieftains take on MLK. I'll be looking for you.

[pfloyd]

You know me trojandave - easy to spot !!! -LOL I'll be in the house - I want a full rundown of the Friday night clash between your Trojans and the Warren Warriors too!!!

[trojandave]

pfloyd: I would love to give you a full report (no napkin stats, sorry) on a sweep of the Warriors.......but we will have to play very well against WHS. The Trojans have been playing well, and I fully expect them to continue doing so. Portsmouth has never swept Warren in a season series, but is looking to avenge a sweep by the Warriors last season.

[pfloyd]

... just a side note trojandave ... give me a rundown on 6-4 Hunter Gibson ... he imo may be one of the unsung players for the Trojans this season ... he looked good playing in the paint for PHS when I watched the final game of the Florida swing for the Trojans ...

[trojandave]

pfloyd: Hunter is a workmanlike player, who does the things that few will notice.......he will take a charge, make good passes in the halfcourt, and generally doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He is a pretty good rebounder, and has the bulk to give opposing bigs some problems in the paint. He fits in nicely with a team whose chemistry has really developed as the season has progressed.

[pfloyd]

... those were my exact thoughts on the young man trojandave ...Hunter is the ultimate role player on a TEAM ... without his "workmanlike" job in the paint doing the little things in the game to help TEAM the team would be weaker ... I like what he does! I for one noticed what he adds to the Trojan's success this season ... looking forward to seeing Coach Collins & Co Saturday in Wellston "in person" ...

[trojandave]

Looks like Portsmouth vs. Wheelersburg will give it a third try to play........this time it is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb.5th. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this time around. The Trojans will then play Ironton the very next night, Thursday, Feb.6th. Then Cleveland Martin Luther King comes in on Saturday, Feb.8th........then the tournament draw on Sunday the 9th.

[pfloyd]

... what do you think trojandave - will MLK make the trip to Wellston Saturday if we get the 2-4 inches of snow Friday night that they are talking about???

[LetsGoPSU]

thx for the update on the Burg game Dave this weather isn't getting any better and more makeups to come Im afraid

[trojandave]

pfloyd: With the weather forecast for Friday night and early Saturday, it doesn't look good for the Wellston games. I can't see MLK driving from Cleveland, since it is supposed to be worse up in northern Ohio. I'm hoping for the Trojans to play, since it's at 6:00 in the evening. Maybe the roads will be good enough.

[trojandave]

Last night vs. Jackson, Coach Collins unveiled a new starting lineup..........6-3 freshman Kendall Reynolds, 5-10 freshman Luke Purdy, 6-2 sophomore Kyre Allison, 6-0 junior Sky Oliver, and 6-0 senior Isaiah Lisath........Reynolds(6) and Purdy(18) combined for 24 points. Purdy was brought up this week from the freshman team, which this year is 9-1 despite the loss of several players from last season. Purdy hit 4 three pointers, while Reynolds scored 3 baskets in close, including a 10 foot bank shot buzzer beater.....Kendall did an excellent job on the glass. Oliver pitched in 17 points (his average over the last 6 games), Allison had around 13 with a nice dunk as well, and Lisath played a good defensive game. Coach Collins played everybody off the bench.

The highlight of the night was the play of the two freshmen in the starting lineup........with this unit, the Trojans have improved their ballhandling and quickness on defense, and now have all 5 starters who are a legitimate threat from behind the arc. The Trojans are probably one of the few teams in the state to start 2 freshmen and a sophomore...........I was really excited to see these new look Trojans, and I think as tournament time comes around this group will have enough time to jell together.

[trojandave]

The Trojans won at Logan 50-42 on Saturday, and while it wasn't a pretty win, it's was still a win which keeps Portsmouth tied with Warren at the top of the SEOAL. The Trojans have only 1 league game remaining, that being at home on Feb.14th vs. Gallia Academy. With the win over the Chieftains, the Trojans are a remarkable 29-0 vs. Logan (10-0), Jackson (10-0), and Gallia Academy(9-0) since Coach Eugene Collins took the helm in the 2009-2010 season. PHS has finished 2nd, 1st, and 2nd the last 3 years in the SEOAL, with the 1st place finish in 2012 being an outright league title. This season it looks like the Trojans and Warren will tie for the SEOAL championship, which would be an upset considering that the Warriors were the prohibitive favorite to run through the league with a perfect record.

Against Logan, the Trojans once again went with freshmen Kendall Reynolds and Luke Purdy in the starting lineup. PHS trailed at the half 24-23, but held the Chieftains to only 18 points in the final 2 quarters while turning up the defensive pressure. PHS's largest lead was 48-37 with just a minute or so remaining. The Trojans are now 12-3 and have won 10 of their last 11 games.

Portsmouth is averaging 60.4 PPG, while giving up 49.5 PPG.

[trojandave]

Portsmouth's game by game scores have been updated on page 3, and include last night's 42-38 win at Wheelersburg, and a 71-40 win over Ironton on Thursday.