Though the Oneida and Vernon-Verona-Sherrill boys basketball teams would both play at home in the first round of the Section III Class A playoffs Tuesday night, only one of them would prevail. And even that took some effort, as the no. 5 seed Indians fended off a late surge by no. 12 seed Phoenix to earn a 58-54 victory over the Firebirds. Meanwhile, the no. 6 seed Red Devils got knocked off at by no. 11 seed Utica-Notre Dame 63-61, a defeat that took on extra meaning because it may mark the end of the long, historic tenure of head coach Al Knapp, Section III’s all-time leader in wins. It took some fine last-minute work from Oneida just to make it past Phoenix. When the Firebirds’ Mark Felicia hit two free throws with 42 seconds to play, the Indians trailed, 54-53, but its defense would pull the game out by forcing three turnovers in the remaining time. The first turnover led to Kyle Peck hitting on a lay-up to put Oneida up 55-54. Then the Indians’ full-court pressure led to Keith Johnson’s interception of a pass and a foul. Johnson hit one free throw to make it 56-54. More pressure led to a third turnover in as many Phoenix possessions. Fouled with 14 seconds to play, Benn DeRocker hit both free throws, giving the Indians its final cushion. Before all this, Oneida trailed, 15-10, going into the second quarter, and was still behind when it reeled off the last seven points of the half to take a 29-25 lead into the break. At one point in the third period, the Indians had stretched the lead to 39-29, but Phoenix countered with a 12-2 run to tie it, 41-41. From there, it went back and forth, neither side gaining any kind of margin before the Indians’ late heroics. Peck was sensational all night, recording 22 points as DeRocker added 16 points, going six-for-six from the foul line. Trevor Haskell had seven points as Johnson contributed six points. Phoenix saw Kyle Himes (12 points), Felicia and Chris Vaverchak (11 points each) hit double figures. More last-second excitement could be found at VVS, where the Red Devils, down most of the night to Utica-Notre Dame, had a chance to win at the buzzer before its comeback fell short. The Jugglers, who beat the Red Devils twice in the regular season, roared out to a 23-15 lead by the end of the first quarter, only to have VVS close within 33-32 by halftime before UND reclaimed the margin, 42-34, early in the third period. Again, the Red Devils pushed back, using a 9-0 run to inch front, 43-42, only to see the Jugglers go back ahead by as much as seven in the fourth quarter before VVS stormed back a third time. Brett Field tied it, 57-57, with two minutes left, and Nash Robb’s basket with 1:20 to play gave the Red Devils a 59-57 edge, one it could not hold as, seconds later, Joe Johnson’s jumper tied it for UND. Following a turnover, Zane Smith’s free throw with 52.2 seconds left inched the Jugglers in front, 60-59. VVS worked the ball to Joe Spinella, who had 21 points on the night, including four 3-pointers. Spinella tried another shot from beyond the arc, but it hit the rim. Fouled with 17.7 seconds to play, UND’s Sean Wuest made both free throws. Now down 62-59, VVS cut it back to one on Isaac Pitman’s lay-up with 5.1 seconds left. The Red Devils had to quickly foul – and hacked Mike Gaglianese with 3.1 seconds left. Gaglianese only made one of the two foul shots, but good UND defense meant that all Spinella could do was launch a shot from mid-court at the buzzer – which missed. Pitman, with 14 points, and Field, with 10 points, aided Spinella as Johnson led UND with 20 points, with Zane Smith (13 points), Gaglianese and Wuest (10 points each) also hitting double figures. VVS closed its season at 11-8 – and Knapp, who has earned 539 victories in 34 years of coaching – first at Brookfield, then with the Red Devils – might have worked from the sidelines for the last time, though a decision has not been reached yet.