Portsmouth boys basketball runs away from Bishop Brady in second half (video)

DURHAM – Jim Mulvey had a feeling he knew what was in store Wednesday for his Portsmouth High School boys basketball in the Division II semifinals.

When the Clippers had played Bishop Brady in the regular season, the Giants had tried to slow down the pace in the second half. Portsmouth already had a big lead in that game, but this time, when Bishop Brady did it from the start it worked, at least for a half.

After a slow start, No. 5 Bishop Brady managed to head into halftime down just seven points, but No. 1 Portsmouth blew the game open in the third quarter on the way to a 55-32 win at the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gym. The Clippers return to the D2 championship game for the third year in a row, where they will face No. 2 Lebanon on Saturday.

“It was frustrating for the first half because they did what they had to do, which was slow it down,” Mulvey said. “You can do that when you have Joe Bell. We’re not going to steal it from him and we’re not going to extend into the halfcourt so then he can go by us. It was a great strategy by them.”

But in the second half, the Clippers (21-0) were able to get out and run more, and when they weren’t making their shots, Joey Glynn was there to clean up the offensive boards. The junior led the way with 19 points, 15 of which came in the second half, and he added nine rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.

Cody Graham was also in double figures with 18 points, including 4 of 8 from behind the 3-point line, and Shon Parham added nine points, as both players hit big shots in the first half to keep Portsmouth out front.

“I thought Cody made some great shots to get the lead, and then Shon was great,” Mulvey said. “There’s nothing you can do when Joe Bell has the ball. It’s not like you can put someone on him and he can steal it. It was a sound strategy.”

Bell finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Giants (14-7) and Matt Quirk added 12 points and four rebounds, but only two other players scored for Bishop Brady.

“I was really proud of the effort the guys put in (Wednesday),” Bishop Brady coach Cole Etten said. “They played hard all game long. We wanted to play at our pace. We wanted to play our own game. They pressed and they wanted that quick game in the 90s. We wanted to play our own style.”

The Giants got that for a half, and despite falling behind 14-5 early in the second quarter, they were able to keep things close. An 8-3 run got Bishop Brady within four points, 17-13, late in the half, before Parham and Graham hit back-to-back 3s in the final minute to put Portsmouth up 10 points.

But with three seconds left, Bryce Johnson drained a 3 for Bishop Brady to make it a 23-16 lead for the Clippers at the break.

“It felt shaky, a seven-point lead at halftime felt like one because we want to run and play,” Mulvey said. “It always comes down to defense. We had to turn them over. At halftime, we had only eight (forced) turnovers, and we wanted to be somewhere in the mid-20s. I think we turned it up.”

Portsmouth opened the second half missing its first three shots from the field, but on the third, Glynn was there for the put back, starting the Clippers on a 16-5 run that gave them their largest lead of the night, 39-21.

“Coach told me that I had to be able to rebound (Wednesday) and we’ve been practicing it, getting rebounds in practice so I can secure it and get it back up there,” Glynn said. “You know, unfortunately we missed a lot of shots and I had to work around the guys and put them back in there.”

The Clippers scored 18 second-chance points in the second half, with all six of Glynn’s offensive rebounds after halftime turning into points.

And now Portsmouth will meet Lebanon in the tournament for the third year in a row, having knocked the Raiders off in the semifinals the last two years. The teams played each other once for a championship – back in 1925, Portsmouth defeated Lebanon 12-10 for the Class L title.

“They’re good and there is a reason they’re undefeated,” Mulvey said. “They don’t have any (holes). They play hard, they play intense like we do. They play good defense. We’re both 21-0, so it should be a great game.”