ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The Green Tech boys basketball team began its’ pursuit of a second straight Sec. II, Class AA championship Wednesday night with an 83-70 win over La Salle Institute in the opening round of the sectional tournament, thanks in large part to a 32-point effort from sophomore Haisi Mayben.

The win for the fifth-seeded Eagles certainly didn’t come as easy as the final score would indicate. The Cadets, who entered the postseason as the 12-seed, got out to an early edge after senior point guard Adam Myers tallied the first five points of the game.

But the Eagles quickly settled in from there. After tying the game up at eight, Mayben came up with a steal, and converted a fast-break lay-up to give Green Tech its’ first lead of the game at the 3:57 mark of the first quarter.

La Salle answered 23 seconds later with a three-pointer from Tradell Faison to reclaim the lead, and the Cadets maintained a 17-13 advantage by end of the first quarter.

After growing the margin to six points just over three minutes into the second frame, Green Tech countered with a 7-0 run to push ahead 27-26.

Then, with the game tied at 31, Mayben rattled off back-to-back three-pointers to give the Eagles a six-point lead with 40 seconds left before halftime; Mayben recorded 16 first-half points, guiding his team to a 39-32 lead heading into the locker room.

Mayben added another 16 in the second half, as Green Tech used a 44-point second half to secure the 83-70 victory. Ramere Brown joined Mayben in double figures with 16, and Henry Perkins notched a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds.

Green Tech advances to Sunday’s quarterfinals round being held at Hudson Valley Community College. The Eagles will take on fourth-seeded Bethlehem at 1:00 p.m. La Salle ends its’ season with a 12-9 record.