NORTH ANDOVER – Three games in four nights with the spotlight squarely on your shoulders.
There simply is no high school athletic event so intense, so entertaining and so special as the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic – aka “The Christmas Tournament.”
With the strides Greater Lawrence Tech has made under third-year coach Stevie Martinez, returning the Reggies to the field for 2025 was an absolute no-brainer.
And the coach, who grew up on the event, is fired up to have “The Tech” back in it.
“I’m very excited for our school and our kids,” said Martinez, whose club reached the Division 3 state quarterfinals a year ago.
“We’re very happy to play in it. It’s unbelievable. It’s arguably the greatest tournament in New England. Just to be able to play on Hammel Court, I loved Bert Hammel. He took care of so many kids from our city, so many great players. Just to be in it was something we couldn’t pass up.
“Our kids have made quite the statement in two years. We’ve had two teams leave it all out there on the floor. We advanced to the Elite 8 last year and opened some eyes.
I think the tournament organizers realized it was time to bring us back in it. We are excited.”
The Reggies left the tournament after perennially struggling about a decade ago.
While the team hadn’t had much success, Greater Lawrence did author one of the legendary performances in history back in 1986, winning their only title.
The late Mike Muldoon, whose coverage of the Christmas Tournament in the pages of The Eagle-Tribune was the stuff of legend, wrote of that team: “The tourney’s Cinderella team is the 1986 Greater Lawrence Tech Reggies. Led by the great Paul Neal, mad bomber/MVP Shane Donahue and Mr. Clutch Shawn Cummings.”
Martinez has hopes of making some modern-day memories of his own, but he knows the road will be tough.
“To have all those MVC teams, one of the state’s best teams in Beverly, plus Saint John’s Prep, it’s a great opportunity for us to test ourselves against some of the better coaches and players in the state,” Martinez said. “We know whoever our opponent is, they’re going to be well-prepared.”
Seedings set, breakfast Sunday
The tournament seedings on the boys and the girls sides are now set.
Beverly drew the top seed over Central on the boys side, while Andover and Pentucket Regional top the girls field.
Sunday morning on campus at host Merrimack College, all 16 teams will gather for the annual team breakfast where each school will have one senior receive a $1,000 scholarship, thanks to Commonwealth Motors.
Andover legend Ted Kelley, who went on to play his college ball at Boston College, where he captained in the mid-1980s, will be the speaker for the event.
Here’s a look at the tourney seedings and schedule:
Girls Tournament
Seedings: 1. Andover, 2. Pentucket, 3. Natick, 4. Westford, 5. Bridgewater-Raynham, 6. Central Catholic, 7. North Andover, 8. Methuen
Saturday, Dec. 27
Game 1: North Andover vs. Pentucket, 2:30 p.m., Lawler Arena
Game 2: Methuen vs. Andover, 4:15 p.m., Lawler Arena
Game 3: Central vs. Natick, 5 p.m., Hammel Court
Game 4: B-R vs. Westford, 6:45 p.m., Hammel Court
Sunday, Dec. 28
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 12 noon, Hammel Court
Game 6: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 4, 1:45 p.m., Hammel Court
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 3, 2:30 p.m., Lawler Arena
Game 8: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 4, 4:15 p.m., Lawler Arena
Tuesday, Dec. 30
Game 9: Seventh place game, 12:45 p.m., Hammel Court
Game 10: Fifth place game, 4:15 p.m., Hammel Court
Game 11: Third place game, 2:30 p.m., Lawler Arena
Game 12: Championship, 6 p.m., Lawler Arena
Boys Tournament
Seedings: 1. Beverly, 2. Central Catholic, 3. Greater Lawrence Tech, 4. Andover, 5. North Andover, 6. Methuen, 7. Lawrence, 8. St. John’s Prep
Saturday, Dec. 27
Game 1: St. John’s Prep vs. Beverly, 1:30 p.m., Hammel Court
Game 2: Methuen vs. Greater Lawrence Tech, 3:15 p.m., Hammel Court
Game 3: Lawrence vs. Central Catholic, 6 p.m., Lawler Arena
Game 4: Andover vs. North Andover, 7:45 p.m., Lawler Arena
Sunday, Dec. 28
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 4, 3:30 p.m., Hammel Court
Game 6: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3, 5:15 p.m., Hammel Court
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m., Lawler Arena
Game 8: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 7:45 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 30
Game 9: Seventh place game, 11 a.m., Hammel Court
Game 10: Fifth place game, 2:30 p.m., Hammel Court
Game 11: Third place game, 4:15 p.m., Lawler Arena
Game 12: Championship, 7:45 p.m., Lawler Arena