DURHAM – Entering Tuesday night’s Division II boys’ basketball semifinal, the No. 3 Pembroke Spartans (18-3) knew exactly what No. 2 Hanover (19-1) was going to do: run a remarkably methodical offense and play smart, disciplined defense. Pembroke knew exactly what it was walking into Oyster River High School to face, but it couldn’t get the job done. 

The Bears raced out to an 11-4 lead at the end of the first quarter, and although the Spartans had cut the lead to 21-18 by halftime and were within three (41-38) with 1:24 left in the game, Hanover prevailed, 49-43.

It was a game of conflicting styles — Pembroke, which wants to get out and run on offense, and Hanover, which is perfectly content to drain two minutes off the clock before even attempting a shot. From the beginning, it was the Bears who dictated the pace of play.

“They pass the ball extremely well, they defend extremely well, they rebound real well,” Pembroke head coach Mike Donnell said of Hanover. “What they don’t do that most of us all do is, they don’t make mistakes. It’s always the team that makes the fewest mistakes that usually wins in the end. They made a lot less than us tonight.”

The semifinal was a rematch of a game from Jan. 15 that the Bears won, 53-31. That game caught the Spartans a bit off guard; this time, even with Pembroke prepared for Hanover’s style of basketball, the Spartans still couldn’t get over the hump.

The Bears’ length plays a major role in the success of their defense, which does a tremendous job of helping on the ball, pinching toward the rim and preventing second-chance scoring opportunities. None of the six players who played significant minutes for the Bears were shorter than 6-0; four were 6-2 or taller. By contrast, Pembroke has just two players 6-2 or taller, but neither Javien Sinclair nor Aidyn Jeski played a ton.

“They have good size,” Donnell said. “Jaysen Oriol was almost impossible to defend on the post. They have (four) guys that are 6-2 or 6-3. We don’t have that. We tried to compensate for it, but their size got the better of us tonight.”

Hanover’s Oriol led all scorers in the game with 19 points. For Pembroke, senior Joe Fitzgerald led the Spartans with 16 points, half of which came in the fourth quarter. He’d aimed to carry this team to UNH for the championship but came one game short.

“Joe apologized to the boys tonight, felt as though he let them down,” Donnell said. “It wasn’t his best game, but like I told Joe, ‘If you weren’t you, we wouldn’t be here tonight.’ He brought us here. He had a phenomenal career. … I told him he’s got nothing to be ashamed of. Joe is a coach’s basketball player. Anyone would want him.”

Tuesday was also the end for Pembroke’s two other seniors, Mason Gagne and Zach Al-Shawafi.

After last March ended with a loss to Pelham in the championship game, Pembroke was laser-focused on clearing that final hurdle this year. The Spartans put together another strong regular season, finishing 16-2 despite losing nine players from last year’s team, and positioned themselves to make another run at a title. But it wasn’t to be. Hanover simply played better.

“The biggest lesson I hope they learn from this is that life is not easy,” Donnell said. “You’re always going to run into obstacles, and at times things aren’t going to go your way. That’s part of life.”

Still, there’s lots for the Spartans to look back on and feel pride in.

“We have a big banquet next Thursday night, (and) we’re going to celebrate our season like we should because there’s so much to celebrate,” Donnell said. “And then we move on. Turn the page.

“What else can you do?”