BILLERICA — With five minutes remaining on the road, it looked as if Greater Lawrence would run away with a massive win.
The Reggies, ranked No. 5 in the recent MIAA Division 3 Power Rankings, appeared on the verge of a statement victory, taking down No. 3 Shawsheen for the second time on the season.
Instead, a 12-point lead collapsed in the final 4:53, with the Rams, going on an impressive 13-0 run, forced overtime.
The Reggies began the extra period strong, before ultimately falling, 42-41.
“They executed, and we didn’t,” said Greater Lawrence coach Stevie Martinez. “We have six freshmen on varsity, four of them playing major minutes, and our youth showed. We’re still learning, our ceiling is high, but we have to fill the holes.”
From the opening tip-off, the energy was palpable. With a capacity crowd in attendance, the Reggie faithful traveled, and helped propel Greater Lawrence to a lead for a majority of the game.
Following a 3-pointer from freshman Amarian Lopez, however, the Rams couldn’t be stopped.
It began with a quick basket from Franck Moron, who hit 1,000 career points on the evening, ending the game with 18 points.
In just two minutes of game time, the double-digit Reggie lead was cut to just two.
“To be up that much and not hold it in the final minutes, it was just disappointing,” said Martinez. “We took some bad shots, and our pace was too fast.”
Shawsheen led by one with under a minute remaining, before Ebe Efosa, on his second of two free throws, sent the game to overtime tied at 37 apiece.
Lopes kicked overtime off with two free throws, before 6-foot-9 center Matt Breen scored five consecutive points.
With the Reggies trailing by three with 20 seconds remaining, they elected to go for two points, as time ran out.
Martinez knows his team can’t panic following a loss like this on the road. The Reggies are still in front of the CAC, now tied with Shawsheen, and slated to host two home games in the tournament.
“We have to get back to the drawing board, and over analyze ourselves in terms of mistakes,” said Martinez. “If you want to take it up to the next level, especially in the state tournament, we have to sharpen up on those mistakes.”
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Shawsheen 42, Greater Lawrence 41 (OT)S – Franck Moron 6-4-18, Matt Breen 4-7-15, Dyllon Pratt 2-1-5, Lukas Porrier 2-0-4
GL – Elian Alvarez 4-0-9, Ebe Efosa 4-1-9, Amarian Lopes 2-3-8, Takho Lara 2-0-5, Dionair Leonardo 2-0-4, Damari Leonardo 1-0-2, Jaden Baralt 1-0-2, Elias Macea 1-0-2