UHS Boys Basketball Falls In Tournament Championship

    The Umatilla High School basketball team fell to 7-2 on the season Thursday night, December 21. The Bulldogs fell in the championship game of the Lake County Tournament of Champions to South Lake by a score of 57-48. The tournament was played at the Florida Elks Youth Camp.
   Umatilla had advanced to the championship with wins over Hope Academy (63-48) and Lake Weir (71-57). In the championship game, Umatilla dominated the majority of the contest before a disastrous fourth quarter sunk the team’s chances to repeat as tournament champions.
   Umatilla jumped out to an early lead and controlled the first half on the way to a 27-20 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, the Bulldogs extended the lead to 40-29. In the fourth quarter, however, the South Lake offense woke up and Umatilla’s fell asleep. The Eagles poured in 28 points in the quarter, to Umatilla’s eight. After pulling ahead 47-46 with just over three minutes to go in the game, South Lake used steady success at the free throw line to seal the win.
   Umatilla will next play on Thursday, December 28, when Jefferson High School out of Hillsborough County comes to Umatilla for a 7 p.m. tip-off.