Basketball Recap: Phillipsburg Takes a Loss

Phillipsburg was the 54-52 winner over Norton when they last played one another back in January of 2024, but their luck changed this time around. The Phillipsburg Panthers fell 59-50 to the Norton Bluejays on Friday.

Eli Jones was his usual excellent self, going 13 for 20 on his way to 33 points and eight boards for Norton. With that strong performance, Jones is now averaging an impressive 16.9 points per game. Jace Bailey also deserves some recognition as he posted his first assist of the season.

Phillipsburg has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-6 record this season. As for Norton, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 6-3.

Phillipsburg has already played their next game (against Hill City), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing. Norton will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Ellis at 7:30 p.m. on January 31st. Norton is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.2 points per game this season.