Portsmouth Trojans Basketball 2019-2020

T

trojandave

Active member
The Portsmouth Trojans will open the 2019-2020 season trying to erase the memory of an 8-16 season a year ago. It was the 4th time in school history that a Portsmouth HS team had lost at least 16 games in a season. The Trojans had serious trouble scoring, as they had 6 games in which they scored 37 points or less, going 0-6 in those games. PHS only won 3 games in the OVC, 2 against Rock Hill and 1 vs. South Point. In the sectional tournament, the Trojans defeated Portsmouth West on a last second shot 47-46, then gave heavily favored Adena all they wanted. Portsmouth held a 1 point lead with just under a minute to play, but couldn't hold it and the Warriors escaped with a 57-54 win. Despite the defeat, it was one of the Trojans' best games of the season. Adena went on to the regional semifinal.

Looking at the 2019-2020 season, Portsmouth does return leading scorer 6-2 SR Matthew Fraulini, who led the Trojans with a 17 PPG average. Fraulini tallied a school record 46 points vs. Rock Hill, and had several other games well over 20. He will be joined by returning starters Miles Shipp, a 6-2 JR, Drew Roe, a 5-8 SO, and Amare Johnson, a 5-8 SO. Candidates for the 5th starting spot will most likely be Daryionne Bryant, a 6-3 SO, Chris Duff, a 6-0 JR, and Michael Duncan, a 6-1 JR. There won't be much size on the roster, which is becoming a tradition at Portsmouth. Fraulini should join the 1,000 point club sometime in the regular season.

Having watched Portsmouth during the summer, the Trojans looked improved but still had issues with ballhandling and rebounding. One thing that can be counted on is that this current group really plays hard, which is one thing I always expect. PHS will try to beat teams up the court, and they seem to play their best when they play fast. With no true post presence to speak of, it will be imperative for the Trojans to be improved shooting from the perimeter.

The Ohio Valley Conference title race will most likely be among 3 teams, with 4 time defending champion Fairland the favorite, with South Point and Ironton making a strong push. Portsmouth finished 7th (out of 8 teams) last year, and could possibly move up to the middle of the pack, but I don't look for them to seriously challenge for the conference crown. I hope I'm wrong on that.

Coach Eugene Collins enters his 11th year at Portsmouth, and to date he has a 163-80 record overall, with 2 Final 4 appearances in 2011 and 2012, 3 district titles, in 2011, 2012, and 2015, a regional final appearance in 2015. He has 4 conference titles, 3 in the former SEOAL and 1 in the OVC (2015). Collins needs only 6 more wins to pass Red Hopkins (1926-1936) as the 2nd winningest coach in Portsmouth history.

The Trojans enter the 2019-2020 season as the 10th winningest program in Ohio, with 1,458 wins against 783 losses. The school's 16-11 record overall is tied for the 4th most wins in state tournament history, and the 27 games played is 3rd all time. Portsmouth is a remarkable 8-1 in the last 9 state semifinal games, and only Canton McKinley has been to the state tournament in more decades than the Trojans. PHS only missed the state tournament in the 1950's and 2000's. They did finish regional runnerup in 1954 and 1955.

I plan on posting about the Trojans season, hopefully more of a progress report. Statistics may be hit and miss, but I will do my best to provide the latest on Portsmouth basketball.

For more info on the Portsmouth Trojans, please visit www.trojanhoops.org. I am responsible for the content on the site, which has over 100 topics pertaining to the history of PHS boys basketball. To date, the website has over 145,000 views.
 
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The Trojans will make their 4th trip to the KSA Holiday Tournament in Florida, which will take place over the Christmas break. Portsmouth has a very good 7-2 record compiled from 3 previous trips. They will play at least 3 games, maybe 4. I don't have an official complete schedule yet, but the Trojans open the season at home vs. Piketon. The first OVC contest will be at South Point.
 
Portsmouth has several key basketball players that are playing football. Amare Johnson, Daryionne Bryant, Michael Duncan, Drew Roe, and Chris Duff are all playing on the 7-1 football Trojans. PHS looks to be a virtual lock for the playoffs with a #5 spot in the R19 with 2 games left. That will set basketball practice behind a week or so, but the most important thing is that these kids stay healthy for the remainder of the gridiron season. The Trojans won't have much depth and can't afford injuries. Coach Collins has a very challenging scrimmage schedule, so hopefully the Trojans will be at full strength for that.
 
Portsmouth has eight 1,000 point scorers in school history, and under Coach Eugene Collins, 4 have been added to that list. Dion McKinley (2012) and Wayne Evans (2012) both scored 1,096 points, Kendal Reynolds (2017) scored 1,341, and all time Portsmouth HS leading scorer Kyre Allison (2016) scored 1,688. Matthew Fraulini, barring injury, should easily join this distinguished group sometime this season. He is only 280 points shy of 1,000.
 
It looks very much after talking to Coach Collins yesterday that Portsmouth will not field a freshman team this season due to low numbers. Still, there are 4 freshmen who will be moved up to the JV squad. Reid Pendleton, Nolan Hyland, Bo Hammond, and Tyler Duncan all played well for the 8th grade Trojans last season, and should make the JV team very competitive. No size in this group, as they are all guards, but these kids have good ballhandling skills, and play very scrappy defense.
 
Thanks. coachablekid. I will do my best to give updates.

The Trojans will play preseason OVC favorite Fairland at the OVC preview on Friday, November 22. PHS and FHS will play at 5pm, with the other 6 OVC schools playing afterward. The preview this year will be at Ironton. On Saturday the 23rd, the Trojans will host Lucasville Valley and Athens in a scrimmage.

It looks right now like there are a couple of kids who played last year that won't play this year. I still think the varsity numbers should be okay, with the starting 5 not being affected, nor the 7 player rotation that Coach Collins is planning. The emphasis will be using the athleticism and quickness that the rotation possesses to get the ball up the court quickly as much as possible, trying to avoid getting bogged down in a half court offense, with the lack of a post presence. Rebounding will be of utmost importance to make this happen. The Trojans should be a very good defensive team in the halfcourt, playing mostly man to man, utilizing the already mentioned quickness.
 
Thank you for the Updates!! Look forward to seeing Portsmouth compete this year and hopefully get back to their traditional winning ways.
 
Thanks, Ohiohshoops3 for your interest in the Trojans.

Portsmouth scrimmaged at Waverly on Tuesday and fared very well. Waverly in the last few years had dominated Portsmouth in scrimmage, but this time PHS scored a total of 84 points, jumping out to a 10-0 lead. 6-1 sophomore Jesse Dixon was a pleasant surprise, knocking down five 3's, while 5-8 sophomore PG Drew Roe nailed 3, and 6-3 senior Matthew Fraulini chipping in a couple. 6-2 sophomore Daryionne Bryant had a slam dunk off a steal. The Trojans started Bryant, Roe, Dixon, Fraulini, and 6-2 junior Miles Shipp. Dixon's performance could have very well earned him a regular starting spot after I talked with Coach Eugene Collins. A Waverly fan who attended the scrimmage said the Trojans shot the ball well and looked very athletic. If Portsmouth can score better this season, they should have a winning record. The lack of scoring ability killed the Trojans' season a year ago.

Portsmouth plays in the OVC preview tonight at Ironton. The Trojans will play 2 quarters against 4 time defending OVC champion Fairland.
 
trojandave.....whatever happened to PrinceTrojan from the day of the Puddle? Always enjoyed "unique" way of giving his thoughts on Portsmouth basketball
 
tgobucks: Prince doesn't post anymore to my knowledge.........but he was a legend in his time, for sure. Hasn't been anyone quite like him since.
 
The starting 5 for the Trojans this coming Friday vs. Piketon at Portsmouth appears to be SR Matthew Fraulini, JR Miles Shipp, SO Daryionne Bryant, SO Drew Roe, and SO Amare Johnson. Sixth man could be either JR Chris Duff, JR Michael Duncan, or SO Jesse Dixon. Nothing is official but it looks like this will be the rotation.
 
Portsmouth will be travelling to Florida on 12/27-12/30 to play in the KSA Holiday Basketball Tournament held in Orlando. The Trojans are in a bracket with The Priory School (CA), Germantown Friends School (PA), Wade Christian (FL), Olentangy (OH), Fordham Prep (NY), Bishop Eustace (NJ), and Hilliard (FL). The exact schedule is still TBD. The Trojans have made 3 previous trips to this tournament and have compiled a very good 7-2 record, winning it in their very first trip with a 3-0 record.
 
Portsmouth opened its 2019-2020 season with a 65-52 win over the Piketon Redstreaks at Portsmouth HS. The Trojans trailed 26-24 at the half, but outscored Piketon 41-26 after halftime. It was Piketon's 4th game of the year, and they are now 2-2. Trojan coach Eugene Collins used the full court press for the entire game, and it created quite a few Redstreak turnovers. Matthew Fraulini scored 20 points, sophomore Daryionne Bryant added 14, while junior Chris Duff came off the bench to pitch in 12. This Trojan team is one of the best conditioned teams that I have seen in quite a while, and they are very fun to watch.....very athletic. Portsmouth played a total of 4 sophomores. The Portsmouth JV team won easily 69-40, with sophomore Donovan Carr scoring 20 points.

Portsmouth has a tough task ahead on Tuesday, as they will travel to South Point to battle a Pointer team that should be a serious contender for the OVC crown. Last season, Portsmouth and South Point split their 2 games, by a total of 3 points.
 
Portsmouth lost 82-75 in OT to the South Point Pointers at SP on Tuesday night. The Trojans (1-1) trailed 39-25 in the 3rd quarter, then rallied behind a full court press to score 44 points in the 2nd half. PHS forced SP into 24 turnovers, and with many of those converted them into quick baskets. SP outrebounded the Trojans by a wide margin 46-24, and the Pointers were 19 of 21 from the FT line. PHS had 5 players in double figures, led by Matthew Fraulini with 22 (238 points short of 1,000), junior Miles Shipp had 10, sophomore Daryionne Bryant added 15, sophomore Amare Johnson had 11, and sophomore Drew Roe chipped in 10. SP was led by Chance Gunther with 25, and Austin Webb with 20.

Going forward, Portsmouth's full court press will give anybody on their schedule real trouble. So far in 2 games, the Trojans have forced 44 turnovers. PHS is as athletic as any team in the SE district. They are averaging 70 PPG through their first 2 games.

Portsmouth plays in the Buckeye Elite Classic at PHS tonight vs. Huntington(WV) St.Joe. Varsity only starting at 6:00 PM.
 
Thanks for the updates trojandave. Always great to hear about one of the most storied programs in Ohio. Best of luck.
 
Portsmouth fell to 1-2 with a 71-66 loss at home to Huntington(WV) St.Joe in the Buckeye Elite Classic. The Trojans fell behind 12-0, showing some effects of a tough 82-75 OT loss at South Point the night before. PHS showed a lot of heart though, cutting the Irish lead to 30-26 before HSJ went into halftime with a 34-26 lead. HSJ extended the lead to 59-44 after 3 quarters, but the Trojans mustered enough energy with their full court press to pull within 70-66 with 30 seconds to play. Portsmouth had a possession to cut the lead to one score, but couldn't capitalize and the Irish sealed the game with a FT. Portsmouth has trailed at halftime in all 3 games so far.

The Trojans were led by Matthew Fraulini with 20 points, and he is now only 218 points short of 1,000 for his career. Miles Shipp and Daryionne Bryant also scored double figures also. HSJ is a very good basketball team, clearly better than a good South Point squad. They had a good post player (6-6) and a stud at guard who had several behind the back assists. They have a solid starting 5, and probably will contend for the Class A state title in West Virginia.

Portsmouth is averaging 69 PPG through 3 games, which is a vast improvement from last year, but turnovers and rebounding are still issues that have to be improved.

Portsmouth will host high scoring Chesapeake on Friday night. I wouldn't be surprised if both teams score at least 65-70 points. Important game for PHS after starting out OVC play 0-1.
 
Portsmouth suffered one of the worst home defeats in school history as the Chesapeake Panthers rolled to an 80-36 OVC victory. The Trojans scored only 1 point in the first quarter, and were down 15-1 after the first 8 minutes. PHS had a mild rally in the 2nd quarter, and trailed 30-17 at the half. After that, the Panthers scored at will and often, tallying 50 points in the final 16 minutes.

The Trojans (1-3, 0-1 in the OVC), are starting 3 sophomores, with one coming off the bench. It also was PHS's 3rd game in 4 days. Even so, a 44 point annihilation is hard to swallow. Chesapeake should not have been 44 points better on this night. If the Trojans play like this the rest of the OVC schedule, they won't win a conference game (14 games total).

Portsmouth will host Fairland on Tuesday, and they had better improve in a hurry to even compete with the Dragons. FHS is the 4 time defending OVC champions.
 
Portsmouth was blown out for the 2nd consecutive home game, as the Fairland Dragons came to PHS and rolled to an easy 72-42 win. The Trojans have lost the last 2 home games by a total of 74 points, and are now in last (8th) place in the OVC with an 0-3 record, and 1-4 overall. FHS jumped to a 17-6 lead and was never threatened. Clayton Thomas scored 29 points for Fairland on at least 5-6 three pointers. Matthew Fraulini led PHS with 9 points, and is now 206 points short of 1,000. Portsmouth finished 7th last season in the OVC with a 3-11 conference record.

Very frustrating to watch my Trojans getting routed in our gym 2 consecutive games. What bothers me the most is that we weren't even competitive.

Portsmouth stays at home on Saturday, entertaining Portsmouth West., then goes to Florida for 3 games over the Christmas Holiday. After that, the Trojans have 3 straight OVC games on the road, Rock Hill, Gallia Academy, and Ironton.
 
Portsmouth got back on the winning side with a 59-46 win over Portsmouth West on Saturday night. The Trojans started 4 sophomores and a junior, and were led in scoring by sophomore Dariyonne Bryant with 19 points. Sophomore Drew Roe chipped in 10 points, while Matthew Fraulini scored 13. Fraulini is now 193 points shy of 1,000. PHS is now 2-4 on the season, and now travel to Florida for 3 games at the KSA Classic.

I believe it was the first time since 1986 that Portsmouth started 4 sophomores. That 1986 team went 16-8 and lost in the district finals. Two years later, those same sophomores won the very first D2 state championship in 1988.
 
trojandave said:
It looks very much after talking to Coach Collins yesterday that Portsmouth will not field a freshman team this season due to low numbers. Still, there are 4 freshmen who will be moved up to the JV squad. Reid Pendleton, Nolan Hyland, Bo Hammond, and Tyler Duncan all played well for the 8th grade Trojans last season, and should make the JV team very competitive. No size in this group, as they are all guards, but these kids have good ballhandling skills, and play very scrappy defense.
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Based on the success and (school) size of this program, not having a freshman team is really surprising. Any insight as to why?
 
SirStanley: Portsmouth's enrollment has dropped like a rock off a bridge in the last 20 years, and it now is showing in participation numbers. We have a boys enrollment of 161, compared to around 250 since the new century started. Open enrollment and transfers out have really hurt us. We probably could field a freshmen team, but there would be virtually no depth, so Coach Collins decided to put the several freshmen in the program up on the JV. Two of those freshmen are playing significant PT for the JV, Reid Pendleton and Tyler Duncan.

One thing to consider about our declining enrollment is that the city of Portsmouth has 3 high schools, Portsmouth HS, Portsmouth East (Sciotoville), and Notre Dame. To compare, Chillicothe is slightly larger than Portsmouth (21,794 to 20,226) but it has only 1 HS, Chillicothe HS. If you put all 3 high schools together in Portsmouth, we would have around 280 boys. Chillicothe HS right now has 372 boys.

Thanks for the compliments on this thread. I will try my best to keep it updated and accurate.
 
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Portsmouth upped its record to 3-4 with a 71-53 win over Wade Christian Academy (FL) at the KSA tournament in Orlando, FL. The Trojans were led by Matthew Fraulini with 34 points, and he is now only 159 points shy of 1,000 for his career. PHS is now 8-2 all time in the KSA event, with this being their 4th trip to Florida. The Trojans will now play Germantown Friends Academy (PA) today 12/28, with 1 more game remaining, opponent TBD.
 
Portsmouth lost to Germantown Friends School (PA) 58-55 on a 3 pointer at the buzzer. PHS is now 3-5 on the season, and have 1 more game remaining at the KSA tournament, opponent TBD. No scoring stats for the Germantown game are available at this time.
 
Portsmouth dropped its final game of the KSA tournament in Orlando, FL by a score of 73-53. No word on who the opponent was, nor are scoring details available. PHS finished its 4th trip to the KSA with an overall record of 8-4, and right now are 3-6 on the season. Matthew Fraulini was named KSA tournament MVP (8 team bracket). The Trojans come home to start OVC play again, with a game at Rock Hill on Friday.

Coach Eugene Collins is only 3 wins shy of becoming the 2nd winningest coach in PHS history. He has 166 wins (166-86), and Red Hopkins had 168 (168-58) from 1926-1936. Collins is only the 3rd coach in school history to take the Trojans to at least 2 Final 4's (2011, 2012........Red Hopkins 1927, 1929, 1931, 1934......Joe Suboticki 1988, 1990).
 
Matthew Fraulini scored 34, 22, and 13 points in the 3 games at the KSA tournament in Orlando, FL. He is now only 90 points short of 1,000 for his career. He was named tournament MVP, and the Trojans finished a respectable 3rd in their bracket (8 teams)
 
Continue to appreciate all the information, trojandave. Crazy to read about the declining enrollment. Very challenging for a school district.

Hoping the New Year goes well for you, family, and the Portsmouth community.
 
Portsmouth got its first OVC win yesterday with a 77-65 win at Rock Hill. The Trojans improved to 4-6 overall and 1-3 in OVC play. PHS was led by sophomore Daryionne Bryant with 25 points, while Matthew Fraulini chipped in 23. Fraulini is now only 67 points shy of 1,000 points. The Trojans played as many as 5 sophomores in the game. One of the sophomores, Jesse Dixon, had 19 points in the 1st quarter of the JV contest, won by PHS. Coach Eugene Collins is now only 2 wins shy of becoming the 2nd winningest coach in PHS history, and is set to pass Red Hopkins (168-58, 1926-1936). Collins overall record is now 167-86.

SirStanley: Hope you and your family have a safe and prosperous 2020.
 
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