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A battle of two good teams, with two very good coaches who have been around awhile. It'll be interesting to see what Coach Scarberry comes up with to slow down the athleticism of Coach Lisath's Trojans. For me this game could go either way...

NW schedule was not very tough. I don't see why they did not play Minford or Burg. I can understand them wanting to get success and get a better seed for the tournament but come on now. Biggest school in the county and playing in the middle divison SOC with schools that should be in the SOC I. NW is physical and will slow the pace down look to keep the game in the 40's. If NW can do that and impose their physical play then NW has a great chance. Coach Scarberry will have a game plan but Coach Lisath will put the Trojans in the best position to win. One thing I have noticed about Portsmouth these last couple games, they are switching it up on defense. 1-3-1, Tandem 2-3, 1-2-2, 3/4 court 1-2-2 press. Makes you prepare for a lot.

Hoopster98 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 26, 2024 10:26 am NW schedule was not very tough. I don't see why they did not play Minford or Burg. I can understand them wanting to get success and get a better seed for the tournament but come on now. Biggest school in the county and playing in the middle divison SOC with schools that should be in the SOC I. NW is physical and will slow the pace down look to keep the game in the 40's. If NW can do that and impose their physical play then NW has a great chance. Coach Scarberry will have a game plan but Coach Lisath will put the Trojans in the best position to win. One thing I have noticed about Portsmouth these last couple games, they are switching it up on defense. 1-3-1, Tandem 2-3, 1-2-2, 3/4 court 1-2-2 press. Makes you prepare for a lot.

I'd say Lisath's had a heart to heart with Berry. He was clicking on all cylinders against Piketon. He's been playing real defense during the tournament and I've followed him for a while, and I can't say I ever really seen him locked in like that.
Seeing Collins back on the bench was a nice surprise also. I knew he was still involved, but I hadn't seen him on the bench. Good Luck Trojans.

I assume NW will try their best to lock Berry down, maybe get him in foul trouble. Portsmouth will need guys to step up again like they did against Piketon. Breech & Loper both had nice offensive games. They’ll need to duplicate that against the Mohawks. Portsmouth likes to get out and play fast, and really press you on defense. I’ll be interested to see if NW can handle those 2 things. On the other hand I’ll be interested to see how Physical Portsmouth gets with NW and can Portsmouth defend the 3 ball, numerous teams have attacked the Trojans via the 3 this season, although I think they’ve gotten better at defending it. Should be a great crowd on hand at the Convo. Go Trojans!

BMG Media will be covering this one with a multicam live stream over on our YouTube Channel.

https://www.youtube.com/@bmgmedia9882/streams

Hoopster98 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 26, 2024 10:26 am NW schedule was not very tough. I don't see why they did not play Minford or Burg. I can understand them wanting to get success and get a better seed for the tournament but come on now. Biggest school in the county and playing in the middle divison SOC with schools that should be in the SOC I. NW is physical and will slow the pace down look to keep the game in the 40's. If NW can do that and impose their physical play then NW has a great chance. Coach Scarberry will have a game plan but Coach Lisath will put the Trojans in the best position to win. One thing I have noticed about Portsmouth these last couple games, they are switching it up on defense. 1-3-1, Tandem 2-3, 1-2-2, 3/4 court 1-2-2 press. Makes you prepare for a lot.

It's 2024 now, far from the biggest anymore
Waverly, Minford, Burg, West (SOC schools) all have higher numbers...and numbers will be even lower this year when they come out again.
I don't disagree with what you said about schedule and division stuff, but they are no longer waaaay bigger than every school around

I can see this going either way...Portsmouth is very inconsistent as I've seen them win by 20 and lose to the same team by 20 in the same few weeks.
Northwest has played kind of the same way, tight games with Webster, Notre Dame, Valley etc....but then lost to Waverly and Eastern

FLIP a coin possibly
If NW shots the ball well from the outside they win, if not Portsmouth takes it

athlete1120: Portsmouth is 8-1 in its last 9 games, so they have shown much more consistently good play the 2nd half of the season. They are also 10-2 in road games, with wins at Ironton by 30, at South Point by 4, and at OVC champion Chesapeake by 15. They were 6-1 on the road in the OVC, the best mark of any team in the conference.

As far as the 3 ball, as PTrojan59 said, the Trojans have done a much better job of late defending it.

I definitely think Portsmouth can win, but it's not a cinch by any means. PHS has played a tougher schedule for sure, but sometimes that can be overrated when it comes down to a 1 game scenario. There have been many a game where PHS was a big favorite, but the Trojans would find themselves in a real battle.

In 1984, Portsmouth went 7-0 vs. Columbus schools, including games vs. Middletown and Cincinnati Moeller, but lost to Wheelersburg in the district championship. In 1989, PHS beat Cincinnati Moeller and Columbus Mifflin, but edged Wellston in the last minute 60-55 in the district championship. In 1990, the Trojans played another rugged schedule going 6-0 vs. Columbus schools, including the OKAC, but barely beat New Lexington 58-57 in the district tournament as a NL shot fell off the rim at the buzzer. In 2001, Larry Berry's bucket with seconds to go gave the Trojans a heartstopping 58-56 win over Washington CH in the district semis. Portsmouth's state tournament team in 2012 had a big scare from Lucasville Valley in the district championship, as PHS just got by the Indians 54-50, with Lenny Collins making a huge 3 ball late.

So there's plenty of examples in district tournament play from the Portsmouth perspective that a tough schedule doesn't necessarily guarantee an easy win.

NW had the easiest schedule in the area and loss to couple soc 3 teams . If they wouldn’t have moved down they might be 500 this year . Their numbers are almost double to south webster who stayed in the good soc cause a harder schedule prepares you tournament . NW elected to play with the weak soc and talk smack all year long . Portsmouth wins big

We forgetting Bolin and and Lintz are straight ballers? They played a weak schedule but still they’re 21-3.

Don’t be surprised if Portsmouth holds the L at the end of the day.

Portsmouth had 10 games this season with at least 3 players scoring in double figures. Not counting DeAndre Berry, 3 of the remaining 4 starters had at least 1 game of 15 points or more. So the Trojans are not as DeAndre--centric as some would believe. Also, there were 4 games where Berry wasn't even the leading scorer. The Trojans have 5 of the top 7 players who are legitimate threats from 3 ball land. Isaiah Lewis is shooting over 50% from behind the arc.

For me this is the match up game of the night!

JeepNation26 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 29, 2024 12:48 pm For me this is the match up game of the night!

Same!

mattash wrote: ↑Sat Feb 24, 2024 9:47 pmThoughts?

It's GameDay and this post went quiet. Mohawks win 55-50

26-18 NW at the half

I thought NW was weak?

NW down 7 at one point, now lead by 8 with 3 players with 2 fouls and 1 player with 3 fouls. PHS only has 2 players in the scoring column. Berry is a good player, has 14 of their 18. Let's see how half #2 goes. NW hanging tough, just like I said they would.

Mohawks up 15, 5:28 left in the 3rd

NW up 18

Oh man. Portsmouth getting blowed out by the weak 21 win team from the little ole SOC2

NW up 18 end of 3rd. Hanging tough.

It's time to get the baseballs out in Portsmouth