Basketball Game Preview: Ouray Trojans vs. Nucla Mustangs

The Ouray Trojans are taking a road trip to face off against the Nucla Mustangs at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Ouray will be strutting in after a win while Nucla will be coming in after a defeat.

Ouray will bounce into Wednesday's match after beating Dove Creek, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Ouray skirted past Dove Creek 52-49. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Trojans.

Meanwhile, Nucla came up short against Plateau Valley on Saturday and fell 51-40. The game marked the Mustangs' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Ouray will have to keep a close watch on Slade Gillen and Brycen Rummel, a pair of players who had a big impact on Nucla's prior game. Gillen went 6-for-11 en route to 16 points and six rebounds, while Rummel almost dropped a double-double with nine points and 13 boards. Rummel is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in each of the last 37 games he's played dating back to last season.

Ouray pushed their record up to 12-10 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.0 points over those games. As for Nucla, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 14-7 record this season.

Things could have been worse for Ouray, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 51-36 loss to Nucla in their previous meeting back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Rummel, who dropped a double-double with 24 points and 14 boards. Now that Ouray knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.