With the end of the regular season less than one week away, the Mancos High School boys basketball team has shown no signs of slowing down.
The Bluejays latest win came on the road against Telluride on Feb. 13 when the team rode a big first half to a 55-47 victory. Mancos led 17-2 at the end of the first quarter and 33-12 at halftime.
"I thought that our defense was pretty solid in the first half," said Mancos head coach Rodney Cox. "Our big guys did a lot of post-to-post stuff and had a solid inside game going."
Senior forward Daniel Christensen and junior center Ro Paschal scored 18 points each to lead the Bluejays. Adrian Hernandez and Jayden Peacock scored six points each and had several assists.
"Jaden and Adrian did a good job of distributing the ball," Cox said.
Telluride was led in scoring by senior guard Wilder Hanley, who scored 17 points. Mancos limited the Miners to just two three-point field goals after Telluride scored nine three-point field goals when the two teams played earlier this season.
"We had better matchups and we were more aware of who their shooters were," said Cox. I thought we got tired in the second half though and we gave up too many easy baskets. That was my fault for not subbing enough."
With their record now at 12-5 on the season, Mancos will prepare to face Dolores at home on Feb. 20 and Telluride at home on Feb. 21. The Bluejays will then advance to a District Tournament.
"We're just going to worry about what we need to do and take things one game at a time," said Cox. "Dolores is always a scrappy team and (Dolores head coach) Larry Schwartz will have them ready to go."