The Dove Creek Bulldogs will venture away from home to face off against the Nucla Mustangs at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Saturday, Dove Creek needed a bit of extra time to put away Dolores. They managed a 48-42 victory over the Bears. The Bulldogs haven't had any issues with the Bears recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Nucla). They blew past De Beque, posting an 80-36 victory. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matchups by 21 points or more this season.
Dove Creek better focus on containing Austin Garvey and Brycen Rummel as the pair were huge in Nucla's win. Garvey went 10-for-18 en route to 28 points in addition to seven boards and three blocks, while Rummel shot 43% from the field on his way to 13 points along with eight rebounds and eight steals. Rummel has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 37 times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Daniel Zunich, who shot 63% from the field to rack up 10 points in addition to six assists and three steals.
Nucla was working as a unit and finished the game with 25 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since the start of last season.
Dove Creek's record is now 3-9. As for Nucla, their record now sits at 13-0.
Dove Creek didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Nucla in their previous meeting back in February of 2025, but they still walked away with a 55-50 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Rummel, who dropped a double-double with 20 points and 15 boards. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Bulldogs still be able to contain Rummel? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps