But Friday's contest between the Gwynn Park High School boys' basketball team and Oakland Mills for the 2A South Region title played out more like a prize fight. In a closely contested battle with multiple momentum swings - and with University of Maryland coach Gary Williams among the capacity crowd - Gwynn Park handed the Scorpions their first loss of the season, earning a difficult 52-48 victory in Columbia.

"It was the craziest place I ever played in my life," said Yellow Jackets' guard Daniel Henry, who thrived in the charged atmosphere. The senior scored a game-high 21 points, outpacing Scorpions' star forward Greg Whittington (19 points). Henry also led the way for Gwynn Park Wednesday night, when he scored 20 points in a 76-62 semifinal win at Glenelg.

"I just wanted to take it to the rack," said Henry, whose clutch drive to the basket for a 3-point play with 1 minute, 7 seconds remaining in the game gave the Yellow Jackets a 49-47 lead that they never relinquished.

As he has done in the absence of junior guard Eric Batts, who has missed two-thirds of the season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament, Henry set the pace for the Yellow Jackets, who also got a huge game from star senior guard Brandon Ford (17 points).

"Our season changed when we lost Eric Batts for the season and we lost our third scorer," Glick said. "With about three weeks left in the season, Daniel stepped up and really helped us out offensively."

The Yellow Jackets trailed by seven points on two occasions in third quarter before fighting back to take their first lead since the second quarter on two free throws by Henry. Oakland Mills went ahead again, taking a 47-44 lead with 1:19 remaining the contest. But the Yellow Jackets shot well from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, starting the quarter 12-for-13, which kept them in the back-and-forth affair.

Gwynn Park (17-8) has won eight of its last nine games, and now turns its attention to the state semifinals. The Yellow Jackets will take on 2A North Region champion Digital Harbor at 7 p.m. March 11 at the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland, College Park. Digital Harbor rolled to an 80-55 win against Edmonson in the 2A North final on Friday.

Gwynn Park 52, Oakland Mills 48

Gwynn Park (17-8)             5              14           17           16 - 52

Oakland Mills (25-1)             7              14           17           10 - 48

Gwynn Park: Daniel Henry 21, Brandon Ford 17, Nick Walton 4, Tion Barnes 6.

Oakland Mills: Joe Kiely 15, Greg Whittington 19, Kerry Bethea 6, James Peters 4.