The Phillipsburg Panthers won the last time they faced the Ellis Railroaders, and things went their way on Tuesday too. Phillipsburg skirted past Ellis 50-47. Given Phillipsburg's advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 99th, while Ellis is ranked 234th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Caden Seems, who scored 18 points along with seven rebounds. Those 18 points set a new season-high mark for he. Trace Hanchett was another key contributor, scoring five points.
Ellis' loss came despite strong showings from Jaren Frickey and Aiden Aschenbrenner. Frickey scored 21 points, while Aschenbrenner scored 14 points. Frickey scored a full 44.7% of Ellis' points, the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Logan Russell, who scored six points.
Ellis struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Phillipsburg pulled down 14 offensive rebounds.
The win makes it two in a row for Phillipsburg and bumps their season record up to 4-1. As for Ellis, their loss dropped their record down to 1-4.
Phillipsburg will head out on the road to face off against Plainville at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Ellis, their homestand continues as they prepare to take on Ellinwood at 7:00 p.m. on December 15th. That game will pit two of the most dominant players against one another: Landon Simpson and Frickey.
