Maybe the Oneida boys basketball team had to pay the devil, literally, when it beat Vernon-Verona-Sherrill for the seventh straight time on Jan. 22. Following that, the Indians have lost back-to-back games, including Tuesday night’s showdown with Tri-Valley League East leader New Hartford, which went to overtime before the Spartans prevailed by a score of 70-65. Oneida had fought back from a 28-20 first-half deficit, closing within 33-30 by halftime. That margin held until the fourth quarter, when Oneida finally went back in front, only to see New Hartford keep sinking 3-pointers, six of them from Calvin Floyd, who led his side with 18 points. Despite all this, Kyle Peck carried the Indians to overtime, hitting two free throws with 40 seconds left in regulation to make it 61-61. Of his career-high 31 points, 10 came in the final period. They were still even, 63-63, in the OT when the Spartans’ Derek German hit his team’s 17th 3-pointer of the night (a school record) to put his side ahead for good. Twice, Oneida turned it over in the waning minutes, and four New Hartford free throws sealed the win. Oneida also lost, 50-45, to New Hartford, unable to complete a comeback as it trailed 40-27 going to the fourth quarter, most of it caused by the Spartans going on a 20-10 second-quarter binge. Jenna Didio, with 16 points, helped the Indians stay close as Ke’Airah Parker got 10 points and Nicole Shene added eight points. New Hartford’s Ashley Chanatry, with 27 points, accounted for than half her team’s offense. Aside from Peck, Ben DeRocker, with 14 points (including three 3-pointers), and Mitch DuBois, with 12 points, got most of the offensive work done. German had 14 points and A.J. Wolfanger added 12 points (all from four 3-pointers) to help the visitors. While all this was going on, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, assured of a Class A playoff spot after missing the show in 2010, shook off a slow start and roared back to beat Camden 62-51. Trailing 18-11 going into the second quarter, the Red Devils dominated that frame, outscoring the Blue Devils 18-5 to move ahead for good. The margin grew to 47-35 by the end of the third period. Joe Spinella proved unstoppable on this night, working his way to 27 points, most of it from five successful 3-pointers. Isaac Pitman also had a big night, earning 18 points, eight of them free throws. The VVS girls team lost to Camden 60-38 on Tuesday night, as the Blue Devils used a 15-5 start to the first half and 13-4 run through the second quarter to account for most of its margin. Codie Bayeur led the Red Devils with 10 points, while Leanne Doolen got nine points and Tracee Scheibel got seven points. VVS did hold Camden star Lindsay Jones to 11 points, but Kiersten Leos (17 points) and Hannah Jennings (14 points) made up for it.