By Roger Brown
MaxPreps.com
John Mulvey scored the 1,000th point of his high school career Friday night, but that wasn’t all he had to celebrate.
Mulvey, a wiry senior guard, made a 3-pointer with 15 seconds to play that pushed Portsmouth High School past Milford, 48-46.
“A thousand means a lot, but the game-winner – it was a big one for us,” Mulvey told the Portsmouth Herald.
Mulvey, who’s been a starter since his sophomore season, entered the game with 993 points, and surpassed the 1,000-point plateau in the first quarter. He completed the contest with a game-high 25 points.
Mulvey became the fourth Portsmouth boys player to reach 1,000 points, and needs 144 points in his final 10 games to pass James Best and become the program’s all-time leading scorer. Best, who went on to play at Providence College, scored 1,161 points in the early 1980s.
“Obviously (Mulvey is) an outstanding shooter,” St. Thomas coach Dan Parr said. “The thing that impresses me is that he works so hard at coming off screens to get his shot, because everyone’s working so hard to stop him from getting those shots.”
The victory improved Portsmouth’s Class I record to 6-2.
“We tried to deny him, but he’s good – he’s a veteran,” Milford coach Dan Murray said. “He knows how to get free and he has a quick release.”
Although Mulvey didn’t reach the milestone at home, he did do it in front of his father. Jim Mulvey has been Portsmouth’s coach for each of the past three years.
“This is something I’ll always remember,” Jim Mulvey said. “As a dad I’m just so proud. He’s a terrific kid. He’s our captain and he’s a great teammate. Any coach would be thrilled to have him.”
Boys Basketball: Trinity Remains Unbeaten
Trinity of Manchester knocked off its second unbeaten team in as many games when it beat Exeter, 74-46, Friday night.
Trinity, which handed Manchester West its first loss last Tuesday, outscored Exeter 26-7 in the final quarter.
Trinity guard Jordan Laguerre, widely considered to be the best high school player in the state, tossed in a game-high 24 points. Michael Thorpe, a freshman who transferred from Florida, led Exeter (5-1) with 17.
Trinity (5-0) and cross-town rival Manchester Central (6-0) are now the only unbeaten teams remaining in Class L. Those teams are scheduled to play at Central on Friday.
Central will face Nashua South (3-3) Tuesday. Four of Central’s six opponents have failed to score more than 39 points.
Trinity, which has lost to Salem in each of the last two Class L championship games, will meet Timberlane (2-4) Tuesday.
Girls Basketball: Tough Tests Await Top Teams
Two marquee matchups will take place in girls basketball this week.
First, Hillsboro-Deering (8-0) will travel to Fall Mountain (8-0) on Thursday night. Somersworth is the only other undefeated team in Class I.
Then two of the best teams in Class I will meet Saturday, when Lebanon (10-0) plays at Hanover (9-0). The winner of that contest will be the only undefeated team remaining in Class I.
Hanover and Lebanon will also meet on Feb. 10.
