Basketball Preview: Portsmouth Trojans vs. Ironton Fighting Tigers
Portsmouth is 1-9 against the Fighting Tigers since February of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. Both teams will face off at 7:30 p.m. on February 6th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. One thing working in Portsmouth's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three games.
Last Saturday, Portsmouth's game was all tied up 20-20 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They enjoyed a cozy 56-42 win over Portsmouth West. Given Portsmouth's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 174th, while the Senators are ranked 514th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Portsmouth's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Donnovan Breech, who scored 18 points along with two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Malachi Loper, who scored 15 points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought game, but Ironton had to settle for a 56-54 loss against the Pirates on Saturday.
Portsmouth's win bumped their record up to 12-5. As for Ironton, their defeat was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 11-6.
Everything came up roses for Portsmouth against the Fighting Tigers in their previous meeting back in January as the team secured a 67-37 victory. With Portsmouth ahead 41-20 at the half, the match was all but over already.
