Portsmouth senior DeAndre Berry (34) poured in a game-high 40 points in leading the host Trojans to a 72-66 Ohio Valley Conference boys basketball overtime victory over Rock Hill on Tuesday night.

Courtesy of Joann Waugh

PORTSMOUTH — DeAndre Berry poured in 40 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead host Portsmouth over Rock Hill 72-66 in overtime in Ohio Valley Conference boys basketball action on Tuesday night at Trojan Arena.

The 6-2 senior, who whipped off six straight points to open the OT period including a spin move off the glass followed by a floater in the paint and a fadeaway from 14-feet to put PHS up 63-59, is 17 points away from his 1,000th career point as a Trojan.

He also became just the fifth player in the long and storied history of Trojan boys basketball to score 40 points in a single game —and the first since Matthew Fraulini did it five years ago against the same Redmen program.

Fraulini had 46, Jayllen Carter with 44 (vs. Jackson) and Dion McKinley with 42 (vs. Logan) did it in 2012, and Larry Hisle had the first such 40-point outing with 41 against Wilmington in 1965.

“I think I did really good today,” Berry said after the game. “I took a lot of shots I shouldn’t have taken, and I have to fix that. But when I came out hot in the overtime, I feel it brought their (Rock Hill) energy down a little bit and they didn’t play as well as they did in the whole game.”

The Trojans (9-3, 5-2 OVC) grabbed a 57-54 lead with 13.3 seconds left in regulation — when Donnavon Breech swished two free throws.

But Rock Hill (4-11, 0-7) sent the game into overtime — when Levi Jenkins banked in a three-pointer with 1.6 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 57-57.

“Bench play, guts and determination helped win this game,” Portsmouth head coach Jeff Lisath said. “Guys who came off the bench gave us a good lift and did good things for us.”

Portsmouth opened the game with a 13-7 first quarter lead — highlighted by a Berry behind-the-back pass to Breech for the layup.

“I think (Berry) played well and had a good effort,” Lisath said. “But we need to do that collectively as a team.”

The Redmen battled back and closed the gap to 18-13, when Aaron Workman connected on two consecutive buckets.

As a team, Rock Hill hit on 56.5-percent of its shots taken in the game.

“It’s amazing to me how good other teams shoot in our gym,” Lisath added. “They shot the ball well. They got some good looks and knocked them down. We have to get better on staying on shooters.”

A late PHS rally, capped by a Leelind Scurlock three-pointer and two free Malachi Loper free throws, gave the Trojans a 30-26 lead at the half.

“We came out slow and showed no energy,” Berry said, about the first half performance. “Coach preaches to us about energy, and we have to get ourselves ready to play. We didn’t do that in the first half. In the second half, I feel we came out a little bit better and showed what we can do and pulled it out. It wasn’t a good win, but here we are.”

A turnaround jumper by Isaiah Lewis, and a putback off the glass from Berry, boosted the Portsmouth advantage to 36-29 midway through the third.

But a runner for two points and a three-pointer from Rock Hill’s Blake Porter closed the gap to 36-34.

That prompted a timeout from Lisath — with 5:01 left in the third.

“We came out flat. No energy,” he said. “We had to get some good looks and stops on defense. We’ve had six kids out with the flu, so I kind of have to say that had a little bit to do with it. But we have to get better. Better defensively. We have to run our offense better. We don’t have any room for error.”

Berry responded with a steal near Rock Hill’s basket, and went coast-to-coast for the layup and the 41-37 lead.

The Redmen, however, outscored Portsmouth 16-13 to force the overtime — thanks in part to three trifectas from Rylan Barker.

But, Portsmouth forward Noah Livingston came up with a steal — that led to Breech hitting two free throws for a brief 57-54 lead.

Portsmouth senior Noah Livingston (23) battles Rock Hill’s Blake Porter (22) for a rebound during Tuesday night’s Ohio Valley Conference boys basketball game at Portsmouth High School’s Trojan Arena.

Courtesy of Joann Waugh

Livingston, a 6-3 senior forward, had seven rebounds, two points and three steals in the win — while Breech had 13 points and was 4-for-4 from the line.

Jenkins’ three at the end of regulation sent the game into overtime, where Portsmouth took over from there — and outscored the Redmen 15-9.

“You always take the ‘W’, but we have to get better and get ready for the next one,” Lisath added.

Portsmouth junior Luke Stine (33) shoots a free throw against Rock Hill.

Courtesy of Joann Waugh

That next one was on Friday night, and at home against Gallia Academy in the OVC.

Following Tuesday’s games, South Point leads the league at 6-1 —while Portsmouth, Fairland, Chesapeake and Ironton are all log-jammed in a four-way tie for second-place at 5-2.

The Trojans’ lone league losses are against South Point and Chesapeake, both at home, while they won large at Ironton —and last Friday’s Fairland game at Trojan Arena was postponed (to Saturday Feb. 10).

* * *

Rock Hill 7 19 15 16 9 – 66

Portsmouth 13 17 14 13 15 — 72

ROCK HILL 66 (4-11, 0-7 OVC)

Dylan Griffith 2 1-1 5, Braxton Harper 2 0-0 4, Levi Jenkins 1 0-0 3, Izaak Cox 6 0-0 12, Rylan Barker 4 2-2 14, Kelan Davidson 2 0-0 4, Blake Porter 7 3-6 20, Aaron Workman 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 26 6-9 66; Three-point goals: 8 (Rylan Barker 4, Blake Porter 3, Levi Jenkins 1)

PORTSMOUTH 72 (9-3, 5-2 OVC)

Isaiah Lewis 1 0-2 2, Donnovan Breech 4 4-4 13, Malachi Loper 0 5-6 5, Noah Livingston 0 2-4 2, LeVaughn Cobb 1 2-4 5, Leelind Scurlock 1 0-0 3, Luke Stine 0 2-2 2, DeAndre Berry 17 5-8 40; TOTALS 24 20-30 72; Three-point goals: 4 (Donnovan Breech, LeVaughn Cobb, Leelind Scurlock and DeAndre Berry 1 apiece)