Umatilla and East Ridge are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2015, but not for long. The Umatilla Bulldogs will be playing in front of their home fans against the East Ridge Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Umatilla has six straight wins, East Ridge has 20 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Even though Umatilla has not done well against South Lake recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Umatilla had just enough and edged South Lake out 53-50. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win Umatilla has posted yet this season.
Umatilla found their leader in underclassman Herly Brutus, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 14 rebounds. Brutus is absolutely dominating the rebound category: he's posted at least eight every time he's taken the court this season. Artis James was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with three steals.
East Ridge suffered their biggest loss since December 15, 2023 on Friday. They suffered a rough 63-38 loss at the hands of South Lake. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for East Ridge in their matchups with South Lake: they've now lost nine in a row.
The losing side was boosted by Nicholas Vazquez, who scored 18 points along with seven rebounds and three blocks. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more blocks the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Corman, who scored two points along with eight rebounds and three steals.
Umatilla's victory was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-3. They've been dominating during the games in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 24.89 points. As for East Ridge, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-18.
Everything came up roses for Umatilla against East Ridge in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 as the squad secured a 93-57 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Corman, who scored 15 points along with nine steals. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Umatilla still be able to contain him? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
