COOS BAY — The sun was barely up when Umatilla took the court, but it seems early morning games agree with the Vikings.

Ulises Armenta scored 14 points, and the Vikings rallied in the second half to beat Pleasant Hill 44-39 on Friday, March 4 in a loser-out game at the 3A state tournament at Marshfield High School.

Umatilla (17-10) will play Eastern Oregon League foe Vale in the fourth place game at 9 a.m. Saturday. Vale beat Oregon Episcopal 60-59 in overtime to advance.

“Vale hit a 3 (by Brooks Haueter) at the buzzer in overtime to win it,” Umatilla coach Scott Bow said. “It’s a good showing for Eastern Oregon. We will both bring home a trophy.”

Umatilla last won a state trophy in 2001 when they finished sixth at the 2A state tournament. Bow was a senior for the Vikings that year.

Umatilla reached the quarterfinals of the 3A tournament in 2008, but went 0-2.

The Billies (18-8) took a 6-5 lead after the first quarter, and opened up a 24-18 lead at the half.

“We were beating ourselves,” Bow said of the first half. “We had too many turnovers, and didn’t take advantage of some easy shots. Our defense did its job. We held them 20 points below their average.”

The Vikings replied with an 11-5 run in the third quarter to forge a 29-29 tie heading into the fourth quarter.

Ramiro Alvarez scored 10 seconds into the fourth quarter to give Umatilla a lead they would not relinquish.

The Vikings held the Billies scoreless for more than two minutes late in the fourth quarter, and Lynkin McLeod, Armenta and Micheal Montez hit free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Montez added 10 points for the Vikings, while Alvarez and Oscar Campos each had six. Campos also had six rebounds and two steals.

Braedyn Cantrell led the Billies with 13 points and eight rebounds.

2A state tournament

REGIS 67, HEPPNER 49 — Freshman Isaiah Koehnke hit five 3-pointers and finished with 28 points as the Rams eliminated the Mustangs from tournament play at the Pendleton Convention Center.

The Rams (23-7) will play Bonanza in the fourth-place game on Saturday.

The Mustangs finished their season with a 21-5 record.

Regis took control of the game early, jumping out to a 22-15 lead after the first quarter. The Rams continued to add to their lead each quarter.

Heppner, which lost all-league player Kason Cimmiyotti to an ankle injury Thursday night in a loss to Knappa, shot just 37 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 21 times.

Tucker Ashbeck led the Mustangs with nine points, 11 rebounds and two steals, while Joe Sherman had eight points and five steals. Landon Mitchell and Brock Hisler each chipped in seven points.