Whether it was the regular season or the post-season, the fact remained the same — the Oneida boys basketball team had figured out Vernon-Verona-Sherrill.
On a wintry Friday night, the two bitter rivals gathered once more, this time in the Section III Class A quarterfinals, and once again the Indians came out on top, using a terrific defense to stymie the Red Devils throughout a 46-37 win.
That win pushed Oneida into a much-anticipated Class A semifinal clash with defending state champion Jamesville-DeWitt Saturday at LeMoyne College at 7 p.m. The winner takes on Utica-Notre Dame or Whitesboro in the Class A final March 7 at Manley Field House.
Beaten twice in regular-season encounters, VVS, the no. 5 seed, was bent on changing that luck against Oneida, the no. 4 seed, even in a hostile setting.
To that end, the Red Devils scored the game’s first seven points, but Oneida didn’t panic, only allowing one more field goal the rest of that opening period and closing back within one, 9-8.
Amid a tense second period, Oneida went out in front, though every basket proved to be a chore — not really surprising, given the amount of knowledge the teams had for each other.
At halftime, the Indians carried a slim 20-17 edge. A pair of 3-pointers – one by Joe Barbano, the other by Evan Croll — cut the margin to 24-23 in the third quarter, but the Indians never let the Red Devils tie it up again.
VVS did have the ball as the third-quarter clock wound down, only trailing 32-28, with a chance to get closer again. When the shot missed, though, Ryan Kramer took the rebound and fed it to Justin Didio for a lay-up just before the buzzer, making it 34-28.
The fourth quarter repeated the previous scenarios, in that VVS again pulled within range, to 38-35 this time, and that the Indians again answered, closing on a 10-2 run.
Kramer led with 12 points, but David Cieri (10 points) was close behind, as Didio and Brandon Miles each got eight points. Wade Kline added six points. VVS had Adam Kemp earn 11 points, Croll 10 points and Barbano nine points.
