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 snuck past Mancos with a 53-49 win. This was payback for Telluride, who suffered a 51-34 defeat the last time these two teams met.
Telluride's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Townes Merritt led the charge by scoring 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. Another player making a difference was Cash Livermore, who scored 13 points.
Telluride has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice 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 challenge Nucla at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Colorado (Nucla is ranked 180th, while Telluride is ranked 165th). Mancos won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Sargent at 12:00 p.m. on January 20th. Sargent is coming into the match hot, having won their last five games.
