Call the Randallstown Rams fast. Call them physical. Call them county champions.
The host and seventh-ranked Rams blew two leads of nine points in the final quarter, but held on to beat tenacious Overlea, 79-76, to win the Baltimore County title.
Lance Anderson led the Rams (22-1) with 23 points. Overlea's Troy Williams led all scorers with 27 points.
The game, which matches the champions of the county's 1A-2A and 3A-4A leagues, was the first boys county title since the early '80s.
"We set out to make history today," said Anderson. "When people talk about the great teams in the county, we want them to talk about us."
Overlea coach Tom Gere said, "We came within a layup of winning the county title. We proved we belonged here."
Randallstown led most of the game, and its lightning-quick defense wore down Overlea (19-2).
Overlea trailed 65-56 with 5:18 left, but used 10 points by Williams to go on a 17-8 run and take a 74-73 lead with 51 seconds left.
Anderson's 15-footer gave the Rams a 75-74 lead, and the Rams' Raymond Smith stole the inbounds pass and hit one of two free throws to widen the lead to 76-74 lead with 40 seconds left.
Overlea responded again. Rob Cousins drove the length of the floor and hit a leaning layup in the lane and was fouled. He missed the free throw, and the game was tied at 76 with 26 seconds remaining.
Randallstown's Brian Broden was fouled by Overlea's Shawn Hampton with 10 seconds left, and made one of two free throws to give the Rams a 77-76 lead.
Cousins again drove down the court, but slipped. Anderson picked up the loose ball and scored at the buzzer as the stands emptied onto the court.
"I'm exhausted," said Randallstown coach Kim Rivers. "We held our composure well down the stretch, and didn't panic. That's the mark of a good team."
Gere was proud of the effort his team showed.
"We weren't even supposed to be here," said Gere. "Everyone thought it would be Milford Mill. I think we earned some credibility and showed our league has other good teams besides Milford, but now we won't be able to hide in the weeds south of Belair Road any longer."
Both coaches said the experience of playing in a county championship was a positive one.
"I think this will help build some momentum for the playoffs," said Rivers. "We haven't been in too many close games this year, but we stepped up when we needed to, and that's a positive."