Nucla and Ouray are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2019, but not for long. The Nucla Mustangs will venture away from home to challenge the Ouray Trojans at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Nucla is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 55.6 points per game this season.
Nucla will bounce into Thursday's matchup after beating Mancos, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. Nucla put the hurt on Mancos with a sharp 58-32 win on Saturday. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four games by 20 points or more this season.
| 01/11/25 @ Mancos | 2 |
| 01/09/25 vs Ridgway | 5 |
| 12/21/24 @ Dove Creek | 2 |
| 12/20/24 vs Telluride | 4 |
| 12/14/24 vs Soroco | 2 |
Nucla relied on the efforts of Brycen Rummel, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 17 boards, and Slade Gillen, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 12 boards. Rummel is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last 27 games he's played dating back to last season. Austin Garvey was another key player, putting up nine points and six rebounds.
Nucla smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in five consecutive contests.
While Ouray didn't have the best season last year (they finished 8-11), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They came out on top against Telluride by a score of 53-44 on Friday. That's two games straight that the Trojans have won by exactly nine points.
Nucla better keep an eye on Cavan Pasek. He was instrumental in Ouray's win, dropping a double-double on 25 points and 19 boards. That's the most rebounds Pasek has posted since back in January of 2024. Another player making a difference was Jeep Demuth, who posted eight points and five steals.
Nucla's victory was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-3. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.8 points per game. As for Ouray, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 6-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Nucla has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 38.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Ouray struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.1 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Nucla against Ouray in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, as the squad secured a 64-35 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Pasek, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and 17 boards. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Nucla still be able to contain Pasek? There's only one way to find out.
