Even though the Telluride Miners have not done well against the Mancos Bluejays recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Telluride managed a 53-49 victory over Mancos. This was payback for Telluride, who suffered a 51-34 loss the last time these two teams met.
Telluride's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Townes Merritt, who scored 20 points. Merritt is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Cash Livermore, who scored 13 points.
When it comes to explaining why Mancos lost, one person who can't be blamed is Brian Veach. Despite the final result, he scored 19 points along with five rebounds. Another player making a difference was Chris Medina, who scored eight points.
Telluride is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 7-4 record this season. As for Mancos, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 5-3.
Telluride will head out on the road to take on Nucla at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Hopefully Nucla focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 16 last Tuesday. Mancos won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Sargent at 12:00 p.m. on January 20th. Sargent is coming into the game hot, having won their last five games.
