With his team trailing by two points with less than a minute to play, Woodlawn coach Eddie Green Jr. told his team it was exactly where it needed to be against host and No. 3 Randallstown in last night's Baltimore County championship game.

An off-balance basket by Rudy Lee Daniels with 33 seconds left and a three-pointer by Darius Nesmith six seconds later proved the difference for the Warriors, who earned a 66-57 upset victory in an emotionally charged game in which fans had to be separated on two occasions.

It was the third consecutive year these teams have met in the county title game and Woodlawn has now won two of those championships; the Warriors also beat the Rams in 2006.

"We've been composed at the end of games all year," Green said. "We're so familiar with them. Someone made a reference that it's like the Lakers and the Celtics, and that's exactly what it is."

Nesmith finished with 21 points, Daniels had 12, Vince Grey scored 11 and Keon Bennett finished with 10 for Woodlawn (16-4). Alexander Jackson led Randallstown (16-3) with 23 points.

There were nine lead changes in the first half before Randallstown went on a 15-3 run midway through the second quarter to take a 37-30 lead at the half. Woodlawn, however, tightened its man-to-man defense in the second half and began to control the game by pressing Randallstown and forcing turnovers.

Nesmith scored seven points in the third quarter and Woodlawn trailed 48-47 entering the final quarter. A basket by Donovan Boyles to start the fourth quarter gave Woodlawn its first lead since the first quarter, and the teams exchanged leads before the Warriors' late-game heroics.

Nesmith also converted six straight free throws in the final 18 seconds to seal the win.

Girls

No. 5 Catonsville 65, Randallstown 49 --The host Comets overcame early foul trouble and the hustling Rams to win the Baltimore County title.

The Comets (21-2) won their 12th straight game, but the young Rams (13-6) made them earn it, tying the score 30-30 at halftime thanks to one of Kelsie Singleton's four three-pointers and taking the lead twice late in the second half.

The Comets played much of the second quarter without starters Jessica Nonn and Shelby Polk, who had two fouls each. Both returned after halftime and combined for 11 points in an 18-4 run that boosted the lead to 48-34 with 56 seconds left in the third quarter.

"[With two starters out] everybody had to step up and we had to take control of the game again. It's about playing smart," said the Comets' Shamika Williams, who scored seven of her 27 points in the run.

"We played hard," Randallstown coach Ellen Fitzkee said. "I thought they did a good job taking us out of our rhythm and we responded in the first half to the physical nature of the game. In the second half, I thought we had way too many turnovers."

KATHERINE DUNN