The Phillipsburg Panthers's road trip will continue as they head out to face the Beloit Trojans on December 19th. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Winning is just a little bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 14 to 4 on the offensive boards, a fact Phillipsburg proved on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged Ellis out 50-47. Given Phillipsburg's advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 115th, while Ellis is ranked 283rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Caden Seems continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 18 points along with seven rebounds. Those 18 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Rad Rodriguez, who scored six points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Beloit put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They walked away with a 56-45 win over Ellsworth.
Beloit's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jackson Cheney, who scored 15 points. That's the first time this season that Cheney scored 15 or more points. Bryce Beisner was another key contributor, scoring 15 points along with six rebounds.
Phillipsburg's victory ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 4-1. As for Beloit, their win was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-0.
Tuesday's match is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Phillipsburg have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 31.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Beloit struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 32.8 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Phillipsburg was taken down by Beloit 82-50 in their previous matchup back in January. Thankfully for Phillipsburg, Wyatt Broeckelman (who scored 22 points along with three steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
