DURHAM – Pembroke’s offense turned in prolific performances all season. But when the Spartans needed baskets the most, leading just 44-42 entering the fourth quarter of the Division II championship game at the University of New Hampshire on Sunday morning, the offense was nowhere to be found.
No. 2 Pembroke (18-3) shot just 1-of-9 from the field in the fourth quarter, coming up short against No. 5 Pelham, 57-54 and finishing the season as the D-II runners-up.
The magical season didn’t have the magical ending head coach Mike Donnell and his players dreamed of for the past four months.
Both teams started the game jittery, and the Pythons (18-4) led just 12-11 at the end of the first; the offense picked up in the second, and Pembroke jumped in front 31-30. At one point in the second quarter, the Spartans had an eight-point lead. They just couldn’t build enough separation.
Once the fourth quarter rolled around, Pelham’s defense stiffened.
“They just applied more pressure to the ball,” senior Mike Strazzeri said. “They made the right defensive plays at the end. They got a few big charge calls. Props to them, they played really good defense.”
Playing his final game for the Spartans, Strazzeri led the way for Pembroke with 22 points, including a desperation-heave 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left to give his team the slightest of hope that they could still tie the game. Junior Joe Fitzgerald added 13 points and was the only other Spartan in double figures. Senior Shondell Hadley had eight points and nine rebounds.
Sunday’s game was by far the narrowest margin of victory for the Pythons during their playoff run. They won their previous three games by an average of almost 30 points, including their 69-31 win over Laconia in the semifinals.
Junior Zach James carried the load for Pelham, turning in a 20-point performance, including 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. But the Pythons’ defense won them the championship. Pembroke had 11 turnovers for the game; five came in the fourth quarter.
“It was a tough way to end the year,” Donnell said.
But after the runners-up medals were awarded, and Pembroke received the runners-up plaque, Donnell showered his group with a message of gratitude and a message of love.
“I love the kids. They love each other,” he said. “We’ve come a long way. Unfortunately in a game like this, someone’s gotta lose. We had our opportunities. … Today Pelham was the better team.”
The Spartans graduate nine seniors off the roster, including Strazzeri, Hadley and Josh Pilotte, all of who played massive roles on this season’s team. The abrupt nature of the ending of the experience for them all stings.
They spent hours and hours together in the gym, on bus rides, hanging out on the weekends together. They all expected to compete for a championship this year. But now, it’s all over, and they came up short of their ultimate goal.
“I have nine seniors that I will not be able to coach again, and that’s a tough thing for me to think about,” Donnell said. “I enjoyed them so much. They gave me everything they had. I’m extremely proud of them, and I told them that they need to hold their heads high.”
Hadley echoed the sentiment: “I’m proud of every single one of these kids here,” he said. “I don’t think any other two teams deserved to make it here other than us and Pelham. Just came down to who wanted it more, and we fell short.”