The Pembroke Spartans, a squad that failed in four regular-season opportunities to beat a team ranked higher in the standings, slew topseeded Oyster River, Class I’s lone undefeated squad, in the quarterfinals of the state basketball tournament.

The 45-44 win was a huge step forward for the program, said Matt Alosa, who a week earlier acknowledged his hoopsters were winning the games they should but had yet to earn a marquee victory.

“I could sense it a little bit... we had focus, you know,” said PA’s head coach. “We didn’t have the best record (12-6), but we had the best defensive team in the state in terms of points allowed. I thought we matched up well with Oyster River size-wise, guard-wise. They have a lot of guards. They spread. We spread … I was excited, and I thought if we could win a game, it would be tonight.”

Oyster River’s coach was more to the point. “It’s pretty easy to go out there and shoot shots when you’ve got nothing to lose and nobody expects you to be there. It’s a whole different story when everyone expects you to win,” said Don Maynard.“They did exactly what we thought they were going to do. They just did it better than us.”

At halftime, the squads were locked in an 18-18 defensive battle. Neither team made a move until the fourth quarter. Midway through the period, the favorites opened a 39-34 lead and looked poised to add to it, but turned the ball over on a traveling call.

Pembroke senior guard Drou Goff responded with a three-pointer.

With Oyster River becoming visibly tense as the seconds ticked off the game clock, Goff hit another trey with just under two minutes to play.

After a quick response by the Bobcats, sixth-man Matt Lavoie drained a three – his fourth of the day – from right in front of his bench, and the Pembroke cheering section behind him went nuts.

Trailing, 45-43, Oyster River called a timeout to regroup.

After the Bobcats missed a three-pointer and a putback, Zachary Benuck went to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game. He missed the first attempt and made the second.

Goff was then fouled but missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Oyster River took the ball back with less than 15 seconds left and called its final timeout.

Goff redeemed himself, though, knocking the ball loose shortly after Oyster River’s inbound pass and diving for it to prevent an Oyster River recovery.

By the time teammate Jon Grenier took control of the ball, the buzzer had sounded, and Pembroke was headed to the semifinals, which were scheduled for Wednesday, March 5.

“I’m speechless right now,” said Lavoie. “Playoffs are just about going on runs. Right now we’re the underdogs, and we’re running.”

Three days earlier, in the preliminary round, the Spartans avenged a 19-point regular- season-ending setback to Laconia, winning on the road, 57-48, on Thursday, Feb. 28.

For Bow coach Chris Gaudreau, on the outside looking in, the victory was no surprise to anyone privy to Class I basketball.

“That’s a tough situation from Laconia’s perspective, to beat a team like Pembroke like that and feel confident, then turn around and play that team right away again,” said Gaudreau, whose 10-8 squad lost, 55-48 and 58-36, to PA earlier this season.

“Pembroke had the mental edge knowing they played poorly the first time and had the opportunity to change things around and get instant revenge.”

Game notes
Against Oyster River, Lavoie led the Spartans in scoring with 12 points. Grenier and Goff each netted 10, and Sheldon Benson offered six points. Grenier, Benson and Tyler Yeaton each added four rebounds.