BCT 2023: Portageville on quest for another winning year with 'unselfish' basketball

BLOOMFIELD – Portageville High School athletics seemingly has the market cornered in recent years in terms of achievement. Name the sport and the Bulldogs are successful at it.

Such is the case with varsity boy’s basketball, as well.

Bulldog coach TJ Smith’s program has strung together three consecutive winning seasons and is 5-4 coming off a 2-2 performance at this week’s Bloomfield Christmas Tournament.

“We’ve got the ability,” Smith said following a 66-47 loss to Richland (Essex) in Friday’s fifth-place game. “We’re still trying to put it together.”

That is understandable, given the fact that football success has resulted in limited preparation for each of the past two boy’s basketball seasons. A year ago, the Bulldogs won just one game in the holiday event, whereas this week, Smith’s group beat Hayti (69-54) and Kennett (59-49) and lost to the Rebels and tournament runner-up East Prairie (67-45).

“It’s a good thing this is December and not February,” Smith said, “or it would be a different conversation.”

Smith said, like all Portageville teams do, his team competes. Even in Friday’s loss, he liked the effort from his players.

“That is the thing that we’ve got to be,” Smith said, “is somebody who competes their tails off.”

Portageville (5-4) got offense on Friday from six different players, which Smith said is a difference from this year’s team as compared to last season’s 15-win club.

“We’re playing unselfishly,” Smith said of his offense. “Last year, we fell into a lull, where we thought we only had one guy who could score, maybe two guys who could score. It turned into bad basketball. That is no fault of the kids, that was on me, I let it get that way.”

Against the Rebels, senior Jamarion Smith had 14 points, which is his season average, while senior Connor Jeffries added 11 and junior Layden Kellum chipped in eight points.

“We (now) have 10 guys, 11 guys,” Smith continued, “who can go out there and get a bucket.”

The Bulldogs are currently averaging 61 points per game, which is the most since the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 title-winning squad, which averaged 62.8 points per game.

“All of these kids love each other,” Smith said. “They play everything together. They love watching somebody else have success, as well. They would just as soon give up their layup and dump it off and let my friend get a bucket.”

Portageville won’t lack experience this season. Smith has seven seniors on this year’s roster, five of whom played and/or started on Friday. Those players include Hershal Kershaw, Aaron Dunlap, Mason Adams, Jeffries, Jamarion Smith, Brandon West, and AJ Larry.

“We’re playing as an unselfish team,” Smith concluded. “That is team basketball, and we get better shots. The numbers will be better because we’ll be making more (shots).”

There is little time for the Bulldogs to rest.

Portageville will host Holcomb (3-6) on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. and Scott County Central (6-4) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.