After flying high against the Oakley Plainsmen last Friday, the Hill City Ringnecks came back down to earth. Hill City took a 50-42 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Panthers on Tuesday. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Hill City of the 54-50 loss they experienced in the two teams' previous head-to-head fixture two weeks ago.
Hill City's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jaden Nuss, who scored 17 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. Nuss has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Dylan Gansel, who scored 13 points along with three steals.
Phillipsburg was led to victory by Rhett Shelton and Rad Rodriguez. Shelton scored 15 points along with three blocks, while Rodriguez scored 15 points along with six rebounds and two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Caden Seems, who scored four points.
Hill City dropped their record down to 8-4 with that defeat, which was their third straight on the road. As for Phillipsburg, their win bumped their record up to 9-6.
Hill City will be playing in front of their home fans against the Buffaloes at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Phillipsburg, they will head out on the road to face off against the Golden Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
