Last night's meeting of Edgewood and Randallstown for the second time this season, pitting Rams against Rams, was anything but a rerun.
In December, Randallstown beat Edgewood by 24 points in the final of the Randallstown Tip-off Tournament. But in the Class 2A North region championship game last night in Edgewood, the game and the outcome were much different.
This time, Edgewood won a thriller, 62-57, capturing its seventh regional basketball championship since 1991.
"We just didn't handle the pressure well the first time we played them," said Edgewood coach Bob Slagle, describing the earlier loss to Randallstown.
This time, though, Edgewood applied the pressure and erased the memory of the loss.
"We knew we could beat them," said Jonathan Booker, a 6-foot-1 junior who led Edgewood with 18 points. "We came in thinking we had to break their press and play hard, and we did."
After a seven-point Edgewood run in the first quarter, the teams were never separated by more than four points until the final two minutes.
Trailing 52-51, Edgewood began to take command with 1: 55 left on a layup by Antwon Smith.
Eric Butler hit a three-pointer from the corner moments later to raise the lead to four. Then Shannon Maynard emerged from a scramble beneath the basket to sink a layup for a 61-54 lead.
Edgewood, which has had balance as its strength throughout the season, had four players in double figures. Maynard, Chris Suber and Eric Butler scored 10 apiece. Smith, who didn't play in the semifinal game Wednesday because of a sprained ankle, added nine points, and Jermaine Hancock scored five.
Gary Neverdon led Randallstown with 23 points, 17 in the second half to give Randallstown momentum in the third quarter.
"This was the type of game these two teams usually play," said Slagle, whose squad is all underclassmen. "They are two very physical and very athletic teams. They played well, and they played hard."
Both teams went into the game with similar records. Randallstown has made five trips to the final four in College Park.
Pub Date: 3/06/99