Boys Basketball
PILOT ROCK 70, UMATILLA 68 — Carter VanHouten made two free throws in the closing seconds to help the Rockets to a come-from-behind win over the Vikings at the Columbia River Clash at Umatilla High School.
“This was a huge team win for us,” Pilot Rock coach Tyler Zyph said. “We were down as much as 12 and continued to fight back. We got a little sloppy with under a minute left in the game and let them tie it up.”
The Vikings (2-2) led 16-12 after the first quarter and 34-26 at the half. Sun Schimmel scored 11 of his 27 points in the third quarter as the Rockets put 22 points on the board to cut Umatilla’s lead to 51-48.
Tate Thacker scored eight of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, and with VanHouten’s free throws, the Rockets improved to 4-1 on the year.
“I have a ton of respect for Umatilla and coach (Scott) Bow,” Zyph said. “Umatilla is where I started my coaching and teaching career and it was nice to see many familiar faces tonight.”
Gage Williams added 13 points for the Rockets.
Mike McGee led the Vikings with 20 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and eight steals, while Benny Soto had 15 points and four assists, Cris Moreno 12 points and five rebounds, and Linkin Zamudio 10 points and six rebounds.
Girls Basketball
UMATILLA 54, PILOT ROCK 50 — The Vikings took a 26-20 lead at the half and held on down the stretch for a win over the Rockets at the Columbia River Clash at Umatilla High School.
“We battled hard tonight and came up just short,” Pilot Rock coach David Norton said. “It came down to little things like turnovers and free throws. We continue to improve each game, we just have to get better in those areas.”
The Rockets (3-2) outscored the Vikings 12-10 in the third quarter to cut the lead to 36-22. Each team scored 18 points in the fourth as Umatilla picked up its second win.
Peytan Fullerton led the Vikings (2-2) with 15 points, while Eva Campos, Shay McCallister and Ruby Chavez each had 11 points.
Hailey Severe and Paige Hansen each had 14 points for Pilot Rock, with Kessa Litfin adding seven.