2018/19 Portsmouth Trojans

[trojandave]

Moses Guthrie: Good points indeed, but the only thing that bothered me about last Saturday was that our Trojans were not competitive with the Senators. I can accept losing much more if our Trojans compete, if they don't, then I do have a problem with that. I think anybody who has watched our Trojans so far know that they are a work in progress, but one thing that is very important along the way is to compete in every game, whether you win or not. The Western Pike loss didn't bother me because we competed and had a chance to win at the end. Can't be said for last Saturday.

On Saturday night vs. Minford, I want to see our Trojans come out and COMPETE HARD. If they do that, I know what they're capable of because I've seen periods of it so far this season. I don't know if they'll win or not, but there will be no excuse for not COMPETING HARD. As I say at the games, GUARD HARD!! The ball may not go in the basket at the offensive end, as we have some shortcomings, but we have the athleticism to GUARD HARD!! We have already played a lot of teams that can hit 3 pointers, and there are a lot more coming. We have got to close out on perimeter shooters better and make teams put the ball on the floor to beat us. We have proven that we can create a good number of turnovers by making teams put the ball on the floor.

I love my Trojans, and I get upset because I CARE!! GO TROJANS!! COMPETE HARD!!

[Proud_Pirate63]

Moses Guthrie: Good points indeed, but the only thing that bothered me about last Saturday was that our Trojans were not competitive with the Senators. I can accept losing much more if our Trojans compete, if they don't, then I do have a problem with that. I think anybody who has watched our Trojans so far know that they are a work in progress, but one thing that is very important along the way is to compete in every game, whether you win or not. The Western Pike loss didn't bother me because we competed and had a chance to win at the end. Can't be said for last Saturday.

On Saturday night vs. Minford, I want to see our Trojans come out and COMPETE HARD. If they do that, I know what they're capable of because I've seen periods of it so far this season. I don't know if they'll win or not, but there will be no excuse for not COMPETING HARD. As I say at the games, GUARD HARD!! The ball may not go in the basket at the offensive end, as we have some shortcomings, but we have the athleticism to GUARD HARD!! We have already played a lot of teams that can hit 3 pointers, and there are a lot more coming. We have got to close out on perimeter shooters better and make teams put the ball on the floor to beat us. We have proven that we can create a good number of turnovers by making teams put the ball on the floor.

I love my Trojans, and I get upset because I CARE!! GO TROJANS!! COMPETE HARD!!

Good post TrojanDave.

[biggdowgg]

Portsmouth pucks up a win against minford tonight ,forget score but trojandave will update soon.

[Pa Trojan]

needed a nice bounce back win, now get ready for league play, first stop at Chespeake

[trojandave]

Portsmouth (5-3) trailed the Minford Falcons 30-29 at the half, but outscored the visitors 34-18 in the final 2 periods to post a 63-47 win. The Trojans improved their home mark to 5-0. Matthew Fraulini had 22 points, Danny Lattimore scored 21, while Miles Shipp added 12. PHS's aggressive defense was the difference in the game, especially in the second half.

Coach Eugene Collins earned his 160th win at Portsmouth, with an overall record of 160-67. Under his guidance, the Trojans have averaged almost 17 wins a season since he took over in the 2009-2010 season. He is only 8 wins behind the legendary Red Hopkins (168-58) for 2nd place on the all time wins list for Portsmouth coaches.

[trojandave]

Portsmouth has a tough weekend ahead with games at Chesapeake on Friday, and then hosting Wheelersburg on Saturday. Hopefully the Trojans will bring the same defensive intensity that they showed in the 2nd half vs. Minford. PHS 2 games over .500 starting a freshman and sophomore.

[trojandave]

Congratulations to the Chesapeake Panthers on their 62-52 win over the Trojans. After Portsmouth jumped out to a 10-0 lead and 20-8 after the 1st quarter, things went downhill for the Trojans. Turnovers really cost PHS in the game, and CHS took full advantage of it. Despite the loss, our Trojans gave a very good effort.

A bright spot for Portsmouth was that Coach Collins played 2 freshman, Amare Johnson and Drew Roe, and 2 sophomores, Miles Shipp and Chris Duff. The experience that these kids will get throughout the season will make them better going forward.

Matthew Fraulini led the Trojans in scoring, but I don't have the official numbers. Fraulini has been rock solid for PHS all season.

GO TROJANS!!

[trojandave]

VERY PROUD of the Trojans on their effort vs. a very good Wheelersburg Pirate team (score 70-57).........Going into the game, Portsmouth (5-5) was a big underdog and yet our kids played their hearts out, battling back from a double digit deficit to tie the game at 40 late in the 3rd quarter. Wheelersburg, though, proved why they are what they are......possibly the best team in the SE district. They responded to the Trojans' surge with a run of their own, and after 3 quarters the Burg led 50-42. PHS did cut the lead to 8 again, but the Pirates again answered and pushed the lead up to 16. The energy expended from battling from behind for much of the game I think finally fatigued the Trojans in the final 5-6 minutes. Congratulations to the Pirates on the win......they have a lot of offensive firepower from the perimeter, as everybody in the starting 5 can hit the trifecta. Tanner Holden had a really good game for WHS, but I thought the 3 point shooting was the difference. Connor Mullins and Trent Salyers were very good from behind the arc. I really liked Coach Collins coming out in a full court press to start the second half, it seemed to energize the Trojans and jump started our comeback.

Portsmouth leads the overall series 23-19, and 5-4 in tournament play. The Trojans have won 11 of the last 14 games between the two, but the Pirates have a 2 game winning streak.

Matthew Fraulini led the Trojans with 23 points, with Miles Shipp and Danny Lattimore with double figures. Portsmouth had 2 freshmen and a sophomore on the court for a portion of the game. Very encouraged by what I saw from my Trojans against the undefeated Burg, and if we can take that performance starting tomorrow night at Fairland, good things will happen for Portsmouth.

[trojandave]

Portsmouth fell to 5-6 on the season with a lackluster 49-30 loss at Fairland. The Dragons controlled the tempo from the start, jumping out to an 18-7 lead, and the Trojans simply had no offensive answer the entire game. Fairland's coach Speed centered his defense on stopping the Trojans' leading scorer, Matthew Fraulini, and it proved to be the perfect game plan. Fraulini is Portsmouth's only perimeter threat, and if he is stymied, there is no one else that can negate that. In the 47 years I have watched Trojan basketball, this team has the least amount of perimeter threats that I have seen. You can't win games with just 1 perimeter shooter, and quite frankly, it may not change much even next year if the Trojans don't develop more perimeter shooting. You have to have balanced scoring in the paint and on the perimeter to be more difficult to defend. Opposing coaches game plan vs. Portsmouth for most of the season has been the same.......defend Fraulini, and make the others beat you. PHS doesn't have a dominating presence in the paint, so outside shooting becomes even more critical to the team's success. Turnovers have been a problem all season long (28 vs. Chesapeake, team averages around 18-20). But even with fewer turnovers, you still have to be able to put the ball in the basket, something that hasn't been a forte of the Trojans. Defensively, Portsmouth has been pretty good this season overall, but last night were beaten by quite a few back door buckets by the Dragons.

It was a disappointing loss considering how well the Trojans played vs. Wheelersburg, which probably was their best effort of the season. To beat a team like Fairland, which likes to control tempo, you have to jump out in front early. Falling behind by 11 points to the Dragons was like a 20 point deficit, with the Trojans lack of offensive firepower. In the end, Portsmouth simply died a slow death last night.

Danny Lattimore led the Trojans with 13 points.

Looking at the rest of the season, unless the script changes for the Trojans offensively, winning games in the OVC, at home or on the road will be difficult. Right now, Portsmouth is 0-3 on the road in the OVC, with games left at Gallia, Ironton, Rock Hill, and South Point. PHS's lone OVC win (1-3) was a 2 point win at home vs. South Point. Portsmouth hasn't had a losing season since the 10-12 record in 2013. Since that season, the Trojans have gone 88-36 (19-5, 20-7, 16-8, 17-8, 16-8).

Win or lose, good or bad, first place or last place, I love my Trojans.......GO TROJANS!!

[trojandave]

Over the last several seasons, the Trojans have had a good number of capable perimeter shooters, Reese Johnson, DJ Eley, Kendall Reynolds, Mike Malone, Kyre Allison, Sky Oliver, Ethan Leonard, Alex Dickerson, and Matthew Fraulini. Every team since 2014 has had multiple outside threats with the exception of this team. All of those teams before this season were much more difficult to defend. Hopefully going forward in this 2018-2019 season that someone will emerge as an outside threat to make the Trojans a harder team to game plan for defensively.

[trojandave]

Let me clarify the term "perimeter". What I mean by using that word is not just 3 point shooting; it also includes mid range shots. Portsmouth is seriously lacking in both mid range and 3 point shooting, and it results in the difficulty of running an efficient offense. Coach Collins knows how to coach an offense that can score; he has had four 1,000 point scorers during his tenure. All of them (Kendall Reynolds, Kyre Allison, Wayne Evans, and Dion McKinley) could shoot mid range and 3 point shots.

[trojandave]

Speaking of 1,000 point scorers, don't have his official totals, but Matthew Fraulini should join that coveted club sometime during his senior year.

[trojandave]

Great night for Matthew Fraulini vs. Rock Hill. The 6-2 junior tallied 46 points, setting the all time single season scoring mark in PHS history. He broke Jayllen Carter's previous record of 44 points, which he scored vs. Jackson in 2013. Carter's total eclipsed Dion McKinley's 42 points which he scored vs. Logan in 2012. McKinley's 42 broke the legendary Larry Hisle's record of 41 points, which he scored vs. Wilmington in 1965. Interesting in that Hisle's record stood for 47 years, and since then has been surpassed 3 times.

The Trojans are 6-6 after a 80-61 win over Rock Hill. Portsmouth is at their best when they play fast, and last night showed that. If it's a half court game like Fairland was Tuesday night, it's a struggle.

GO TROJANS!!!

[biggdowgg]

Good post Dave ,I just wonder it Larry Hisle record would still be I'm tact if not for the three point line?

How ever great accomplishments by all

[trojandave]

From what people have told me about Hisle, biggdowgg, he was just an all around scorer, not necessarily relying that much on outside shooting. There are quite a few people who still maintain to this day that he was the greatest player in Trojan history.

Hisle's career ended when the Trojans were stunned by Athens 65-62 in the 1965 district tournament in Athens. Athens went on to lose to Columbus South by only 2 points in the regional, then South went on to win the state title, beating Cincinnati St.Xavier 54-53.

[trojandave]

Portsmouth got off to a bad start vs. Gallia Academy on Tuesday night and never recovered in a 62-44 loss. The Blue Devils jumped to a 10-2 lead, and the closest the Trojans got was 19-16. After that, GAHS went on a run to take a 31-23 halftime advantage. PHS couldn't muster any offense in the 2nd half and Gallia cruised to an easy win.

Portsmouth started 2 freshmen and a sophomore, while GAHS started 4 seniors. Their advantage in experience over PHS showed. The Trojans are now 2-4 in the OVC and 6-7 overall. Junior Matthew Fraulini and sophomore Miles Shipp led PHS with 9 points apiece. Freshman Drew Roe had 7. The Trojans lack of outside shooting really hurts them in half court basketball, but that's something that won't change this year. Portsmouth tried to push the ball up the court, but turnovers cost them a number of buckets that could have made the game more competitive.

[trojandave]

Gallia Academy has now won 5 in a row vs. the Trojans. Portsmouth leads the overall series 41-15.

[trojandave]

Portsmouth fought hard vs. Ironton, but the Fighting Tigers just had more offense than the Trojans en route to a 73-56 win. The Trojans fell behind 24-10, mainly on the exploits of Ethan Wilson, who came out with a hot hand from 3 point range. PHS rallied to a 33-29 deficit at the half, but the Trojan offense couldn't keep up with IHS. Still, a good effort by the Trojans against a good Ironton team. Matthew Fraulini led PHS with 20 points.

[trojandave]

The South Webster Jeeps used a big 2nd half to run away from Portsmouth 68-54. As in so many games this season, the Trojans lacked outside shooting and thus, baskets were hard by. Matthew Fraulini led the Trojans with 20 points, while Braden Bockway led the Jeeps with 18. PHS did a credible job defensively on Shiloh Blevins, but his supporting cast did most of the damage. Portsmouth fell to 6-9 on the season, and has only OVC games remaining.

[trojandave]

The Coal Grove Hornets continued their dominance of Portsmouth with a lopsided 64-33 win. This was the Trojans poorest effort of the season overall, as the offense, other than Matthew Fraulini, was non-existent. The defense in the 2nd half allowed too many open layups by CG. Coal Grove has now won 5 of the last 6 vs. Portsmouth. The Trojans fell to 6-10 on the season and 2-6 in the OVC. Fraulini had 19 of Portsmouth's 33 points. PHS made 26 turnovers vs. Coal Grove, which is the 2nd highest total of the season.

The 31 point margin of loss was one of the largest in Portsmouth's home history. Other large margins of defeat included a 96-61 drubbing by Ironton in 1996, a 55-25 loss to Wheelersburg in the early 90's, a 95-59 loss to Columbus Marion-Franklin in 1993. Portsmouth's record of 6-10 also could be headed for history if things don't turn around. The most losses in PHS history was 18 in 2007, when the Trojans recorded a dubious 4-18 mark. The 1962 Trojans went 1-17 after losing all but one player from their 1961 state championship team. This team has to win at least 1 game to avoid tying the 1961 team. The 2006 team lost 16 games (6-16).

What looms ominous for the rest of this season and the 2019-2020 season is the severe lack of outside shooting that the Trojans possess, and the large amount of turnovers that have plagued Portsmouth virtually every game. If the perimeter shooting woes and ball handling does not improve between now and next season, the Trojans will be staring down another losing season......not much will change, if anything. They will be a team struggling to stay out of last place in the OVC in 2019-2020.

These things have to be said......anybody who grew up in Portsmouth, graduated from Portsmouth HS, and has watched so many great teams through the years, the current basketball that is being played is hard to watch. As I have said before, Coach Collins is in a difficult situation when he has a team that simply can't shoot and can't take care of the basketball. I have been to practice, and the coaches work on these deficiencies but when game time comes, the same problems arise. What is also alarming is that the Trojans have not been competitive for the last month.....they have getting beaten by double digits routinely.

For the first time all year, I saw a good number of Trojan fans leaving after the 3rd quarter......an unthinkable sight, but when you're team is not competitive, that's what happens.

One parent remarked to me after the game "This is unwatchable". That parent was absolutely right. Just maybe the Trojans can be at least a watchable team the rest of the season, regardless of win/loss record. At least be competitive......we have shortcomings, but one of them should not be being competitive. That has to come from the heart. We can be competitive, and we certainly shouldn't get blasted by 31 points on our home court.

Portsmouth has too much of a great basketball tradition to start heading in the other direction.

LOVE MY TROJANS!! GO TROJANS!!