Souhegan comes up short against Portsmouth

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Staff photo by JOE MARCHILENA Brandon Len of Souhegan drives to the basket against Portsmouth's Jacob Lehoux.

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Staff photo by JOE MARCHILENA Brandon Len of Souhegan drives to the basket against Portsmouth's Jacob Lehoux.

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AMHERST – Jim Mulvey could see the future.

Even though his Portsmouth High School boys basketball team led Souhegan by as many as 11 points in the first half, Mulvey knew the Clippers were going to be challenged late in the game.

And sure enough, they were. Souhegan outscored Portsmouth in the third quarter to tie the game, but the final eight minutes belonged to the Clippers, as they remained undefeated in Division II with a 55-43 win over the previously unbeaten Sabers.

Billy Lane scored 11 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter and Charlie Duprey had 16 points for Portsmouth (8-0), as both players stepped up after Souhegan found a way to slow down Kamahl Walker (11 points).

“We did the job on Walker and he’s an outstanding player,” Souhegan coach Mike Heaney said. “We talked about what we had to do on Billy Lane and we didn’t do it. We let him get in the lane and score, which he does really well.”

Brandon Len led the Sabers (6-1) with 16 points and Zack Simmonds added 12 points, but Souhegan struggled in the early going, falling behind by seven after one quarter. With under three minutes to go in the first half, Portsmouth held a 24-13 lead.

“They were going to make a run,” Mulvey said. “One of us could be up 14-0 at the beginning of the game, but the other team is going to come back and the game will be tied sometime in the third quarter.”

Souhegan cut the lead to six going into halftime and the Sabers kept chipping away in the third quarter. Two layups by Len, sandwiched around a free throw by Lane, made it a three-point game and another layup from Len made it 34-33 late in the quarter.

Duprey answered with a layup, but James Sheldon hit a 3 at the other end for Souhegan to tie the game. The Clippers had time for another shot before the buzzer, but the Sabers’ defense held and the game was tied at 36 going into the final eight minutes.

“When we didn’t let them get a basket at the end of the third, I said, ‘We’re right there, right where we wanted to be,’ ” Heaney said. “But then it went back to basic basketball: rebounding, keeping them out of the lane and help-side defense. We’re still a work-in-progress.”

Duprey opened the fourth with a 3-pointer – Portsmouth’s only one of the game – but Souhegan hung around. A 3 by Simmonds made it 44-41 with four minutes to play, but the Clippers closed with an 11-2 run, thanks in part to Lane’s ability to get to the basket.

“Billy Lane was in another world,” Mulvey said. “His competitiveness is probably better than anyone I’ve had. He refuses to give up.”

The Clippers also moved Lane onto Len defensively and the Souhegan junior had just two free throws in the final seven minutes.

“They’re an excellent high school basketball team,” Heaney said. “Portsmouth teaches us how much harder we have to go to beat the top schools in our division.”