DURHAM – As Coe-Brown head coach Dave Smith stood outside the Bears’ locker room at Oyster River High School hugging his players one by one — virtually all with tears in their eyes — he exuded nothing but a sense of pride and appreciation.

“The effort was 100%,” Smith said after his Bears lost in overtime to No. 1 Pelham, 59-56, in Tuesday’s Division II semifinals. “The effort was just phenomenal. Got down, came back several times. Obviously Pelham’s a great team, but I think we’re a pretty good team too. I was very proud of their efforts. At least we were in a situation where we could’ve won the game. That’s all I can ask for from the kids.”

In a game that swung back and forth from the opening tip – Coe-Brown (16-5) led 17-15 after the first quarter, Pelham (19-1) led 28-27 at halftime, Coe-Brown led 41-40 at the end of the third – the most pivotal moment came with just 4.7 seconds remaining in the fourth.

The Bears possessed the ball down 51-49. Junior guard Ryan Kouchoukos drove down the left side of the floor with a head of steam, and with his left hand, banked a shot off the glass and in, while drawing a foul. Make the free throw and Coe-Brown would take the lead. Pelham head coach Joe Morin iced Kouchoukos by calling a timeout. Kouchoukos then clanked the free throw off the back of the rim, no good.

The game subsequently went to overtime where the Pythons outscored the Bears, 8-5, and punched their ticket to the D-II championship game on Sunday where they will face No. 2 Hanover.

The night didn’t produce the desired outcome for the Bears, but the effort was a testament to the progress this team had made since the start of the year. When Coe-Brown faced Pelham back on Dec. 15, Smith said his group hadn’t really figured out its identity yet. On Tuesday, that identity — stingy defense and aggressive-but-smart offense — shined through clearly. 

“We improved so much from the beginning of the year. Just amazing,” Smith said. “You only do that with hard work, listening and practicing and trying to make things better. That was the nice part. My job is to put people in the right position — try to anyway — at the right times. Their job is to improve every day, to get as good as they can be.”

Coe-Brown was led in scoring by senior Quinn Salter and junior Jack Matson, both with 17 points. Senior Connor Bagnell added 16 of his own. Pelham’s Zach James led the Pythons with 17.

The loss marks the end to the careers of Coe-Brown’s four seniors: Salter, Bagnell, James Larson-Clarke and Trevor Amergian. Smith credited them for setting a positive tone for the group, following in the footsteps of last year’s senior class.

“I’ve been blessed the last couple years with great kids. Really,” Smith said. “The seniors this year took the torch from the seniors last year. A lot of academic kids. They do their work. They do what they’re supposed to do which is a wonderful thing these days.”

Tuesday also ended Smith’s 33rd season as Coe-Brown’s head coach. At 78 years old, he’s not sure how many more seasons he has left in him. But as he reflected on his team’s performance on the biggest stage his players have ever played on, all he could do was convey admiration.

“No complaints,” he said. “Very proud of them.”