WEST ANDOVER – Approaching “state greatness,” only to be denied by Old Rochester in the 2025 state quarterfinals did not sit well with “The Tech.”
“That game just never left my mind, man. The feeling we had in the locker-room (last year), that never left me. Knowing we did what we could last year and didn’t win, I didn’t want to feel that anymore, so we fought through it,” said fired-up senior Albert Diaz, who along with his Greater Lawrence Tech hoop teammates washed all that pain away on Saturday afternoon.
Behind one of the fiercest defensive performances you’ll ever see in high school basketball, the 12th-seeded Reggies overwhelmed No. 13 Norwell, 57-27, in the 2026 Division 3 state quarterfinals, elating a packed, raucous house at the Tarbox Gym.
“This is so cool. It’s something you dream about. Being in the final four is just the best!” said Diaz, who set the tone for the blowout with three first-quarter three-pointers as the Reggies built a 13-4 lead after the first eight minutes and never looked back.
Two of those came right in front of the Norwell student section.
“I’m a shooter, shooter’s shoot. I like hearing the opposing crowd talk (stuff) to me. It fired me up,” said Diaz.
Greater Lawrence will now challenge top-seeded Hanover (22-1) in the state semifinals this week.
It took Norwell nearly four minutes just to get on the board. In that stretch, the maniacal Reggies had already forced five turnovers.
“That’s what we do. We pressure, we make sure we make them uncomfortable as much as we can,” said Diaz.
Norwell got as close as seven points in the second quarter, and it was still a game at the half, 28-18.
The Reggies simply choked the visitors out for good in the third. It took the Clippers 5:13 of clock time to score their first and only points of the decisive third quarter, allowing the Reggies to carry a 38-20 advantage to the fourth.
Diaz’ final triple pushed 17-7 Greater Lawrence, which surrendered nine points total after halftime, to its largest lead of the game at 49-24.
Sophomore Amarian Lopes paced the Reggies with 16 points, five assists and five rebounds. Diaz had 15 with five boards and four steals.
Freshman Carlos Quezada had eight points and seven rebounds, while senior Zay Goicochea hauled in 10 man-sized boards and added five assists.