Philo is 2-8 against New Lexington since February of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Philo Electrics will head out on the road to challenge the New Lexington Panthers at 7:00 p.m. Philo is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.8 points per game this season.
Philo is headed into Tuesday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Thursday. They were beaten by Tri-Valley 68-27. The game marked the Electrics' lowest-scoring match so far this season.
Despite the defeat, Philo had strong showings from Rusty Trout, who posted 11 points, and Carter Crabtree, who put up eight points.
Meanwhile, the third road contest was the charm for New Lexington, as they earned their first road win of the season. They strolled past Nelsonville-York with points to spare last Friday, taking the game 60-42. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 150th, while the Buckeyes are ranked 438th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Philo better keep an eye on Isaiah Stephens. He was instrumental in New Lexington's win, almost dropping a double-double on 27 points and nine boards. That makes it four consecutive games in which Stephens has scored at least a third of New Lexington's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Eli Stephens, who had eight points and six rebounds.
New Lexington is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.5 points per game. As for Philo, their loss dropped their record down to 3-6.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Philo has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 23.7 boards per game. However, it's not like New Lexington struggles in that department as they've been averaging 20 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Philo came up short against New Lexington when the teams last played back in February of 2024, falling 55-51. Can Philo avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
