After losing to the Atlantic Sharks the last time they met, the Umatilla Bulldogs decided to demonstrate that turnabout is fair play. Umatilla enjoyed a cozy 53-39 win over Atlantic on Thursday. Given Umatilla's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 144th, while Atlantic is ranked 417th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Umatilla found their leader in underclassman Herva Brutus, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 15 rebounds. The game was Brutus' fourth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Emalee Duncan, who scored seven points along with eight steals and three blocks.
Umatilla is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 9-2 record this season. As for Atlantic, they bumped their record down to 4-5 with that defeat, which was their third straight on the road.
Umatilla won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Tavares at 6:00 p.m. on January 5th. Atlantic won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Halifax Academy at 6:00 p.m. on January 5th.