BEDFORD – The Bedford Bulldogs couldn’t get Merrimack to give up on its season Friday night in the Division I quarterfinals, although eventually time ran out on the Tomahawks to the tune of a 47-41 Bulldog win.

The third-seeded Bulldogs moved on to Saturday’s Division I championship with a 47-35 triumph over No. 2 Spaulding. Bedford will square off with undefeated and top-seeded Porstmouth at UNH starting at 3 p.m.

Against Merrimack, Bedford had leads of 19-7 and 26-15 in the first half. The never-say-die Tomahawks were within 32-28 after three periods and when Ian Cummings (10 points) grabbed a loose rebound and put it in with 2:18 to play, Merrimack was down just 39-37.

But Bedford, led by Max Chartier’s career high 25 points, was a satisfactory 7 of 11 from the line down the stretch. The Tomahawks could only get within four the rest of the way, 43-39 with 30.6 ticks left and 45-41 with 20.6 left. Both times Chartier free throws squelched those efforts.

“Max is the man,” Bedford coach Mark Elmendorf said. “He’s a great player, great kid.”