UMATILLA — The Vikings are sitting all alone in second place in the Eastern Oregon League standings at 2-1 after beating McLoughlin 69-54 on Saturday afternoon.
“We started the game really well,” Umatilla coach Scott Bow said. “David Garcia did a great job of putting us in a good position by either scoring himself or finding others for some easy shots. Carter Griggs did a good job coming off the bench and had some good energy to help get us going.”
Garcia scored 11 of his 19 points in the first quarter as the Vikings cruised to a 21-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Pioneers countered with a 25-15 run in the second, behind eight points by Matthew Humbert to pull within 36-34 at the half.
The Vikings (11-5 overall) stayed one step ahead of the Pioneers in the third with a 12-9 run, then pulled away in the fourth with a 21-11 scoring spree with Jayden Perches leading the way with five points.
“Coming out of halftime, we wanted to make some changes and the kids responded well to putting themselves in better positions on both sides of the ball,” Bow said. “Jayden did a good job rebounding in some tough positions. David did a great job dealing with the extra attention he had when we had the ball and was able to hit open guys for easy buckets as he had six assists.”
McGee added 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Benny Soto had nine points and four rebounds, and Perches nine points and nine rebounds.
“Mike played very well in the paint tonight, getting a well- deserved double-double,” Bow said.
Brunot led Mac-Hi (5-10, 1-2) with 20 points, while Humbert had 11 and Diego Ledesma seven.
Photos by Kathy Aney. Umatilla's David Garcia (12) goes to the hoop while playing McLoughlin on Jan. 17, 2026, in Umatilla. Umatilla's Mike McGee (5) shoots a 3-pointer while playing McLoughlin on Jan. 17, 2026, in Umatilla.