Umatilla is 0-8 against The Villages Charter since December of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Umatilla Bulldogs will be staying on the road to face off against The Villages Charter Buffalo at 7:30 p.m. on February 8th. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Umatilla walked away with it. They snuck past the Hurricanes with a 58-52 win on Tuesday. Given Umatilla's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 214th, while Lake Weir is ranked 482nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Umatilla found their leader in underclassman Herly Brutus, who scored 21 points along with eight rebounds and six assists. Brutus is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last five games he's played. Artis James was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with seven assists and four steals.
In what's become a running theme this season, The Villages Charter gave their fans yet another huge win on Tuesday. They blew past Mount Dora 80-27 on the road. While fans of The Villages Charter might be used to big wins, the 53-point margin marked the team's biggest victory yet this season.
Umatilla has been performing well recently as they've won 11 of their last 13 games, which provided a nice bump to their 19-5 record this season. As for The Villages Charter, the victory was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 15-11.
Umatilla took a serious blow against The Villages Charter in their previous meeting back in January of 2019, falling 86-39. Thankfully for Umatilla, Peyton Williams (who scored 24 points along with three steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
