Portsmouth falls in high-scoring battle with one of Division I's top teams in Pinkerton

PORTSMOUTH — The Pinkerton Academy boys basketball team entered Tuesday's Division I game against Portsmouth undefeated, averaging nearly 87 points a game, having surpassed the 90-point plateau in four of its first six games

However, Portsmouth also came in undefeated, and confident it could play with the high-flying, upstart Astros. However, behind the scoring tandem of Christian Brander and Jackson Marshall, the Astros put up their second-highest scoring total of the season and earned a 96-76 win over the Clippers.

"First and foremost, Pinkerton is the real deal, they're as good as advertised," Portsmouth head coach Tyrece Gibbs said. "Proud of my guys' effort in the second half, they kept fighting and they hung in there."

Brander scored a game-high 36 points, setting a school record with 11 3-pointers in a game, and Marshall added 35.

"We should have played much better than we did," said Portsmouth sophomore Ryan Swartz, who scored a team-high 20 points. "We let (Brander) score 11 3s, and you can't win when stuff like that happens. We've got to learn from it."

The Astros play at a fast pace, and shoot a lot of 3-pointers. Their 3-point attempts mainly come off actions that can generate quality, open looks.

"(Pinkerton) plays in the 90s, we don't play in the 90s," Gibbs said. "Once they get going, they're hard to stop."

Stopping, or trying to stop, Marshall

For Pinkerton, it starts with the 6-foot-9 Marshall, who can score from the perimeter as well as inside the paint. Marshall scored a school-record 52 points in last Friday's 94-61 win over Trinity. Jeremy Currier set the previous record of 49 back in 2000.

"(Marshall) can shoot, can post you, has great footwork," Gibbs said. "He's really good."

Swartz had the challenge of guarding Marshall.

"It was good, we had known all week what (Marshall) could do," Swartz said. "I feel like once the game started, we kind of just lost our heads a little bit and just went out not thinking. It's fine, just stuff to learn from."

Pinkerton proves it has more than just Marshall

Pinkerton's offensive prowess certainly doesn't end there with Marshall.

"I was a little skeptical of the players around Marshall, but tonight they killed us, they're the real deal," Gibbs said.

Pinkerton connected for 12 3-pointers in the first half. Brander connected on seven 3-pointers in the first half, including four in opening quarter. Marshall also hit three of his four 3-pointers in the first half.

Additionally, Pinkerton's Charlie Ludden and Jordan Sharpe both had one 3-pointer for a team game total of 17.

"It's hard to combat that," Gibbs said. "You can't really do much with that."

In comparison, Isaiah Reis and Jackson Jones led the Clippers with two 3-pointers, while Swartz and Cote Bellaud both had one.

Clippers put up points as well

It shouldn't be overlooked that the Clippers put up a season-high 76 points in the loss, surpassing the 74 they scored their season-opener against Londonderry.

Swartz led Portsmouth with 20 points, Reis had 17 and Princeton Daniel came off the bench and scored 13.

"Just started off with hitting one shot," Daniel said on what sparked his 13 points. "I'm trying to get some shots, and trying to do whatever the team needs."

Portsmouth grabs a first-quarter lead

The Astros hit their first five 3-point attempts, and grabbed an early 15-6 lead. But, Portsmouth responded with a 12-2 run and took an 18-17 lead on a Swartz layup plus the free throw to complete the traditional three-point play.

The lead was short-lived as Pinkerton ended the quarter on a 13-2 run and took a 30-20 lead into the second quarter.

Pinkerton led 54-42 at halftime, and doubled its lead to 24, 77-53 at the end of the third quarter. The Clippers put together one last rally attempt and cut the lead to 17 at 86-69, but the Astros held the Clippers off.

"I think that we could've played way better," Reis said. "I don't think we're 20 points worse than them."

What's the level the Clippers can get to this season?

Despite Tuesday's first loss of the season, the Clippers remain a confident team and feel they are one of the top teams in Division I behind Pinkerton and Bedford. Thos two teams played in last year's championship game are favorites to do it again in 2024. Pinkerton and Bedford are the two remaining undefeated teams in Division I, and they are scheduled to square off on Friday, Feb. 9 in Derry.

"I think those two teams are really good and it's pretty much everyone chasing them," Gibbs said. "I don't think we're ready to take that challenge on with these top teams, but I do think we'll get there. Obviously we have an entire season left, and I think we'll get there at some point."

Reis said it starts with the Clippers' approach.

"I think playing with a chip on our shoulder, we just lost by 20 to a team we shouldn't have lost by 20 to," he said. "I think that as long as we keep that in the back of our minds and keep working. We're going to see (Pinkerton) again in the playoffs, final four maybe or whatever. I expect it to be a better game."

What's next for Portsmouth

The Clippers are staying at home for their next two games, starting with Friday against Merrimack (3-3) and then hosting Bishop Guertin (1-5) on Tuesday. After games at Concord (0-6) and Bedford (5-0), the Clippers are back home against local rival Exeter (4-2) on Friday, Jan. 26.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Brander, Marshall lead Pinkerton boys basketball past Portsmouth