The Dolores Bears will challenge the Nucla Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Dolores will bounce into Friday's game after beating Ouray, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. Dolores skirted past Ouray 59-57. The Bears didn't have much to brag about two games back, but this win makes it their second in a row.
| 01/18/25 vs Ouray | 26 |
| 01/17/25 vs Mancos | 18 |
| 01/14/25 @ Telluride | 17 |
Dolores relied on the efforts of Trayton Traweek, who went 11 for 26 on his way to 26 points and eight rebounds, and Koby McClellan, who posted 22 points and five assists. The match was Traweek's third in a row with at least ten points. Michael Nielson was another key player, putting up two points in addition to ten boards and three steals.
Dolores smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Nucla). They walked away with a 65-53 victory over De Beque on Thursday. Winning may never get old, but the Mustangs sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.
Dolores better focus on containing Brycen Rummel and Holten McCluer as the pair were huge in Nucla's win. Rummel almost dropped a triple-double on 12 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists, while McCluer went 11 of 14 en route to 23 points and five boards. Rummel has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last 29 times he's played. Another player making a difference was Slade Gillen, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and ten rebounds.
Dolores pushed their record up to 4-8 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.7 points per game. As for Nucla, they picked up their first home victory, bumping their record up to 10-3.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Dolores has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 26.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Nucla struggles in that department as they've been averaging 37.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Dolores lost to Nucla on the road by a decisive 62-47 margin when the teams last played back in January of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Rummel, who went 9 for 18 on his way to 24 points along with eight rebounds and six assists. Now that Dolores knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
