DURHAM – No. 3 Pembroke used a dominant second quarter to help them secure their third D-II state title this decade, beating No. 9 Kearsarge 47-35 Saturday at UNH.
The game was tied at 12 after the first quarter, but Pembroke outscored Kearsarge 19-2 in the second quarter as a few things weren’t going in the Cougars’ favor.
Kearsarge senior Noah Tremblay picked up his third foul with 5:20 still left in the first half, freshman Adrian McCarthy exited the game with a lower-leg injury, and senior Jak Jallah also picked up his third foul. Plus, a personal 8-0 run from the D-II NH basketball player of the year, Noah Cummings, added onto it.
A Tremblay layup just a minute and a half in was the Cougars’ lone-basket of the quarter.
“We needed everyone playing their best today and that would mean trying to stay foul-free,” said Kearsarge head coach Nate Camp. “The inability to score in the second quarter killed us. [Pembroke] is too good to get in a hole like that. I know they were the three-seed but they were the team to beat this year.”
If you take away that second quarter, the Cougars outscored the Spartans 33-28 in the game.
Kearsarge made some plays in the second half to keep the game interesting and keep the Cougar fans into it.
Senior Kyle Hernon took a charge on a driving Cummings to spark a nice little 6-2 run to put the Cougars down 33-20 midway through three. But, a Pembroke run at the end of the frame had the Spartans up 39-21 going into the final quarter.
In the fourth, after allowing a 3-pointer from Pembroke’s Timothy Pitman, Kearsarge rattled off an 11-1 run that included seven points from junior point guard Ben Carl. The run forced a Pembroke timeout with 2:46 left, with the Spartans still holding an 11-point lead.
“I think we did a better job in the second half and we went on a little run,” said Camp. “I’ll certainly remember that this group played with a lot of heart.”
Pembroke slowed down the game and held on to win, and Cummings closed it out with a free throw while receiving “MVP” chants from the Spartans’ student section.
Kearsarge had their three starting seniors all foul out in the final minutes of the game. Hernon, Jallah, and Tremblay were all greeted with an applause from the crowd and a big hug from coach Camp after exiting the floor for the last time in their high school career.
On what he said to the seniors when they came off the floor, Camp said, “I thanked them all for what they’ve given the program and what they’ve given me. I look at them like they’re my sons and I couldn’t be more proud of them. To go on the run we did in the last two weeks… it was so tough and I didn’t want it to be over. It was a good moment to get to thank them because I know they would run through a brick wall for me.”
Cummings led Pembroke with 18 points and 5 rebounds, while Sean Menard added 16 points and 5 boards.
For Kearsarge, Carl, Tremblay, and Hernon all contributed nine points. Tremblay had five rebounds and Carl added six rebounds and two steals. Jallah chipped in with 5 points and 7 rebounds.
NOTES
Kearsarge’s largest lead was three points with 6:22 left in Q1 — Kearsarge led for 1:54 while Pembroke led for 27:05. The game was tied for 3:01 — Personal fouls: Kearsarge 22, Pembroke 13 — Rebounds: Pembroke 30, Kearsarge 29 — Turnovers: Kearsarge 13, Pembroke 9 — Field goals: Pembroke 15 for 38, Kearsarge 14 for 42 — Free throws: Kearsarge 5 for 9, Pembroke 14 for 23 — Season records: Kearsarge 13-9, Pembroke 21-1.
QUOTEWORTHY
“To do what we did against some of the best teams in D-II… that’s a credit to these kids. They weren’t expected to be here and that’s all you need to tell to a group like this. A lot of them said at the beginning of the season that they wanted to get to UNH.” – Coach Camp
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