Basketball Game Preview: Nucla Mustangs vs. De Beque Dragons

The Nucla Mustangs will challenge the De Beque Dragons at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Nucla comes in on three and De Beque on four.

Nucla is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Thursday as they easily beat Ouray 66-7. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 23 points or more this season.

Nucla's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Viviana Zunich, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 13 boards. With that strong performance, Zunich is now averaging an impressive 2.2 steals per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Kendra McCluer, who went 8 of 15 en route to 19 points along with five rebounds and four steals.

Nucla smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 32 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 27 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, De Beque earned a 38-31 win over North Park on Saturday. Given the Dragons' advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 114th, while the Wildcats are ranked 277th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Nucla is also on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 23.9 points per game. As for De Beque, their victory bumped their record up to 9-3.

Nucla couldn't quite finish off De Beque in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 and fell 35-32. Will Nucla have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.