Like most siblings, Vinny Clifford looked up to his older brother. Then again, Mike — now a 6-foot-7, 230-pound senior forward at Merrimack College — always towered over his younger brother.

Vinny’s aspirations scratched deeper, as he yearned to emulate his brother’s performance on the basketball court. Mike cracked the varsity at Danvers High as a freshman, and then played three years at Bishop Fenwick.