PEMBROKE – Coaches always say that it’s hard to beat the same team three times. But Pembroke managed to beat Bow a fourth.

The Spartans (17-2) drained 12 3-pointers in a packed Pembroke Academy gymnasium as the top-seeded Pembroke boys’ basketball team beat the No. 9 Bow Falcons (13-7), 74-60, in Friday night’s Division II quarterfinal to advance to their third consecutive final four.

The three previous meetings this season were all decided by three points. Pembroke won 56-53 in the semifinals of the Capital Classic Holiday Tournament, 78-75 on Jan. 28, and had to come from behind in both regulation and overtime to secure a 67-64 win on Feb. 18. A quickly developing Falcon squad also entered Friday’s quarterfinal fresh off an upset victory on the road against No. 8 Manchester West, 53-52 in overtime, in the preliminary round.

“We wanted to do the same things because we’ve been successful doing them, even though we were down in the first quarter in the last game and we were able to come back,” Pembroke head coach Mike Donnell said. “The problem you have as a coach is that you’re always thinking about the law of averages. You don’t want to play a team four times. You don’t want to play (Bow’s) Jake Reardon a fourth time. Reardon gave us everything he had. The game was fantastic. Our guys were ready to play. Plain and simple.”

With tip off scheduled for 6 p.m., the PA bleachers on both sides of the gym were already full by 5:30, with more supporters for both teams still pouring in. Spectators spilled onto the sidelines and onto the floor as they waited for seats to open up, so much so that the game was delayed for a couple minutes as fans continued to pack the stands.

“Crazy energy. It was like a championship energy in here,” Pembroke senior captain Evan Berkeley said. “The fans mean the world to us. The student section has been crazy. It’s something I look forward to every time. I like to put on a show for the fans. It was a great environment and we killed it.”

An already raucous home crowd had even more to cheer about early on when senior captain Devin Riel connected on four 3-pointers in less than seven minutes to give the Spartans a 23-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Riel (four rebounds, three assists, two blocks) scored a game-high 22 points and had five 3-pointers, all in the first half, with Berkeley (21 points, six assists), junior Zac Bemis (12 points on four 3-pointers, five rebounds, three assists) and sophomore Andrew Fitzgerald (five points) all connecting from deep in the first half to lift Pembroke to a 46-32 halftime lead.

“I feel like I struggled with some shooting this year, it was a big boost for me (hitting early shots) on the scoring side,” Riel said. “It gave me a lot of confidence and my team a lot of confidence.” 

The 3s continued to fall in the second half with senior Brady Boisvert connecting on another clutch shot from deep off the bench. 

Juniors Colin Dube (three points, three rebounds, two assists) and Jackson Tanguay (two points, rebound, assist) also played well off the bench.

“That’s what you have to do to win a championship,” Donnell said. “When subs come in, they have to be ready for the call.”

Reardon, a junior, put his team on his back in the second half, scoring 15 of his team-high 21 points over the final two quarters (he also had six assists, four rebounds and two steals) to cut the Spartans’ lead to 46-36 early in the third. But PA ended the frame with a 55-42 lead and took its largest lead, a 21-point 68-47 lead midway through the fourth quarter, before Bow made a late run to end the game down 14.

“Jake Reardon is unbelievable,” Donnell said. “But we had a great defensive plan from (assistant) coach (Jim) Cilley. (Bow head coach Eric) Saucier does a great job. Bow lost, but they never quit. They’ll be back next year.”

Juniors Brendan O’Keeffe (17 points) and Peyton Larrabee (six points, six rebounds, six assists, four blocks), and senior Keenan Hubbard (three rebounds, three steals) played well for the Falcons, but the Spartans held their own along the boards despite a height disadvantage.

Junior Javien Sinclair (six rebounds, five assists, four points, steal, block) was a standout on the defensive side for Pembroke.

“Hats off to Pembroke. They’re just a really good basketball team. They’re the No. 1 seed for a reason,” Saucier said. “We went in with a game plan. Devin Riel kind of changed that game plan. He had only hit one 3 in the last two games we played them, but came out with (four) in the first quarter. He hit the big shots he needed to.”

The loss ends Saucier’s first season as Bow’s head coach. The Falcons started the year 3-3, but won five straight games in February, including a 48-24 drubbing of two-time defending champions Pelham, and developed a strong defensive game to match its offensive prowess, becoming a dark horse that nobody wanted to see in their section of the tournament bracket.

“I think the blueprint is in now. They understand what I’m about and what I look for,” Saucier said. “As the season went on, we on grew a lot. The blueprint is in, so now we just have to get better to get to the next level and they know how much work it takes to get to the next level.”

For the Spartans, the season continues, but with Monday’s semifinal against No. 4 Pelham (16-4) being played at the Rochester Recreation Center and the championship game on Sunday being played at the University of New Hampshire, if they make it, Pembroke won’t have home court advantage.

But that certainly doesn’t mean the support will stop.

“I want to thank the community,” Donnell said. “This place was packed. (The fans) are like the sixth player. To have the adrenaline in the building and the kids to see it, you don’t often see that as a young man.”

Pembroke lost to Hanover, 49-43 in last season’s semifinals and lost to Pelham in the finals, 57-54, the year before.

“It was heartbreaking last time,” Riel said. “We want to get the win and go to UNH and get a banner.”