Two long-time rivals took very different paths to a clash with each other Friday night in the Section III Class A playoff quarterfinals.
Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, the no. 5 seed, got dragged into overtime by no. 12 seed Mexico before Adam Kemp, quiet most of the night, carried his team at the end to beat the Tigers 54-50.
At first, the pace fit VVS just fine, as it kept Mexico’s attack in check throughout the first half and took a 26-20 lead to the halftime break.
But the Red Devils went into a slump that consumed most of the second half, allowing Mexico a chance to fight back. Tim Forbes led the rally, working his way to 24 points, nearly half of them through 11 successful free throws.
This left VVS down, 42-40, with less than a minute left in regulation. Not wanting his team’s season to end, Evan Croll hit a jumper with 40 seconds left, then helped his teammates fend off Mexico’s attempts to win it.
So they went to four minutes of OT. Here, Kemp, the 6-10 center who had just four points so far, stepped up, getting half his team’s 12 points in that extra frame to finish with 10 points overall, allowing VVS to move on.
Before that, Croll, with 22 points, along with Joe Barbano (12 points) and Joe Spinella (nine points), had led the Red Devils’ attack.
While all this was going on, Oneida, the no. 4 seed, was steadily beating up no. 13 seed Phoenix in its opening-round game, pounding its way past the Firebirds 70-42.
A productive attack helped the Indians roar to a 39-28 halftime lead, but that just set the table for the third quarter. Here, Phoenix did not even get on the board as Oneida shut down the Firebirds while, at the same time, issued 16 unanswered points to settle the outcome.
Ryan Kramer, with a trio of 3-pointers, had 21 points overall. Wade Kline chimed in with 11 points, while David Cieri gained nine points. Brandon Miles and Joe McCormick each had eight points. Jon North led Phoenix with 11 points.
Oneida and VVS met twice in the regular season, the Indians winning both times. The winner of this game gets Jamesville-DeWitt or Fowler in next weekend’s Class A semifinals.
