Preview: Phillipsburg Stateliners vs. Ridge Red Devil
The Phillipsburg Stateliners will head out on the road to challenge the Ridge Red Devil at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a eight-game winning streak alive.
Phillipsburg scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Thursday. They walked away with a 74-64 win over Parsippany Hills. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Phillipsburg's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Matthew Scerbo Jr., who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 11 rebounds. That's the first time this season that Scerbo Jr. pulled down eight or more rebounds. Andrew Martin was another key contributor, scoring 19 points along with six assists and six rebounds.
Ridge posted their biggest victory yet this season on Thursday. Everything went their way against Hunterdon Central as Ridge made off with a 62-39 victory. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win Ridge has posted against Hunterdon Central since January 22, 2015.
Phillipsburg pushed their record up to 8-1 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.3 points per game. As for Ridge, their win bumped their record up to 9-1.
Phillipsburg was able to grind out a solid victory over Ridge in their previous meeting back in January of 2023, winning 61-54. The rematch might be a little tougher for Phillipsburg since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
