Everyone in the building knew that, with the Oneida boys basketball team trailing Utica-Notre Dame by one in the final seconds, Ryan Kramer would get the ball.
Yet even with that knowledge, the Jugglers could not prevent Kramer from draining an 18-foot jumper as time ran out to give the Indians a dramatic 67-66 victory Friday night at Walsh Gym in Utica that sent the home fans into shock.
In a three-sport high-school career full of superlatives, Kramer, the soon-to-be Colgate football star, added to his legend with a performance down the stretch that, even by his standards, was quite remarkable. Of his 23 points, seven came in the final minute, including that buzzer-beater.
To even reach that point, though, Oneida first had to deal with a Utica-Notre Dame squad that featured its own transcendent talent in junior Pat Moore.
Ready for the occasion, the Indians jumped all over UND, grabbing an 18-4 lead, and it was still well out in front, 20-8, by the time the first quarter ended.
Led by Moore, who finished with 23 points, the Jugglers stormed back in a high-scoring second period and forged a 36-36 tie, setting the stage for the second-half excitement to follow.
For much of the night, David Cieri set the scoring pace for the Indians, as he earned 18 points. Helping Cieri inside, Wade Kline had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Nick Dreimiller sank a 3-pointer on his way to matching Kline with 10 points.
Despite all this, UND led 52-49 going into the fourth quarter, and the two sides kept trading baskets throughout that last period, neither side able to pull clear.
Then it was Kramer’s time. With 1:01 left, he sank a long 3-pointer to help the Indians catch up, and would continue to take over after Cieri fouled out seconds later and Oneida trailed by one, 64-63.
Driving to the net, Kramer hit a lay-up with 18.3 seconds left, and the Indians led 65-64. UND then got the ball, and Oneida kept it from Moore — but fouled Jerrell Hunter with 6.9 seconds showing on the clock.
Hunter calmly sank both free throw and put the Jugglers back in front, 67-66. In the ensuing timeout, head coach Jeff Didio set up two plays, both of them with Kramer in mind.
With two defenders hounding him, Kramer still found his way to a spot just inside the 3-point line, then let fly at the buzzer — and it swished.
Oneida moved to 12-5 on the season with this win and has a huge amount of momentum going into home games this week against Holland Patent and New Hartford.
