TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — On Jan. 26, the Green Tech basketball team lost to Shaker and was largely ignored in Class AAA, finishing just 9-6. The Soaring Eagles haven't lost since then and are getting some well-deserved recognition, especially now that they made it to the state semifinals.
Green Tech tied with Liverpool in Round 3 for the third year in a row in the regional round of the state tournament. The first two games were split between the teams — Green Tech won the 2022 meeting before Liverpool won last year — but Saturday afternoon's rubber match saw the Eagles outscoring the Warriors in a defensive battle, 55 They won against 49.
On a day where points were at a premium and fouls were high, Green Tech relied on a variety of sources of attack during a decisive fourth quarter.
Heading into the final period, the scoreboard was tied at 37, and the Eagles took the lead when the scoring started with a free throw from Heishi Maben. Two possessions later, Maven assisted on sophomore Indavia Burns' corner 3-pointer to extend Green Tech's lead to 41-37.
Following four consecutive points from Liverpool's Kaerem Haskins, Green Tech junior guard Ramea Brown drained a trey ball from the top of the key to put the Eagles back up 44-41. Maven then hit a spinning baseline bank shot at 2:22 to make it a two-possession game.
After Green Tech increased the lead to five points with less than a minute left, Barnes hit a corner triple to give the Eagles an eight-point lead, but Liverpool could not fight back.
Brown and Barnes tied for a team-high 13 points, and Maben contributed 12 points. Green Tech showed its incredible depth by overcoming 24 team fouls and disqualifications of key players Jasai Eason and Olivan Owens. Eight different Eagles were in the scoring column.
Green Tech (18-6) returns to Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls, where it won its third straight sectional title last weekend, to fight for a spot in the Class AAA state championship game. The Eagles will face Kingston in the first round in the semifinals, but the team won easily 83-66 on February 8th.
That game will tip off on Saturday, March 16th at 12:30 p.m.
