The Umatilla Bulldogs pushed their score all the way to 61 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They were the victim of a tough 86-61 loss at the hands of Greater Atlanta Christian. While losing is never fun, Umatilla can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 219th in Florida, while Greater Atlanta Christian is ranked 17th in Georgia).
Despite the loss, Umatilla saw an underclassman step up: Herly Brutus dropped a double-double on 22 points and 12 rebounds. The match was Brutus' ninth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Artis James, who scored 13 points along with five rebounds.
Even though they lost, Umatilla were working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Greater Atlanta Christian only racked up 20 assists.
Greater Atlanta Christian got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Vinh Nguyen out in front who scored 16 points along with three steals. Those 16 points set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Rich Rojas, who scored 15 points along with seven rebounds and five assists.
Umatilla's loss dropped their record down to 8-3. As for Greater Atlanta Christian, the victory was the ninth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 11-1.
Umatilla won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Osceola at 5:30 p.m. on December 30th. Greater Atlanta Christian won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Tampa Prep at 8:30 p.m. on December 30th. Tampa Prep is also coming in off of a big victory, so somebody is in for a big reversal of fortune.
