Even though the Jefferson Dragons scored an imposing 63 points on Thursday, the Umatilla Bulldogs still came out on top. Umatilla took their match against Jefferson 70-63. Given Umatilla's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 219th, while Jefferson is ranked 486th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Umatilla found their leader in underclassman Herly Brutus, who dropped a double-double on 26 points and ten rebounds. The match was Brutus' eighth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Henry Clendinen, who scored 12 points.
When it comes to explaining why Jefferson lost, one person who can't be blamed is Lazzaro Ford. Despite the final result, he scored 34 points along with seven rebounds and six assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Kavanagh Cooper, who scored nine points along with six rebounds.
Umatilla is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-2 record this season. As for Jefferson, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 3-8.
Umatilla won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Greater Atlanta Christian at 8:30 p.m. on December 29th. Greater Atlanta Christian knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past ten games -- so hopefully Umatilla likes a good challenge. Jefferson won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Keswick Christian at 2:30 p.m. on December 29th. That game will pit two of the most dominant players against one another: Isaiah Batey and Ford.
