The Phillipsburg Stateliners waltzed into their matchup Thursday with six straight wins but they left with seven. They snuck past Bridgewater-Raritan with a 52-47 win. Given Phillipsburg's advantage in MaxPreps' New Jersey basketball rankings (they are ranked 33rd, while Bridgewater-Raritan is ranked 128th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Leading Phillipsburg to victory were Allan Palos and Matthew Scerbo Jr.. Palos scored 12 points, while Scerbo Jr. scored 18 points along with five rebounds. The matchup was Scerbo Jr.'s sixth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Andrew Martin, who scored six points along with five rebounds.
Phillipsburg pushed their record up to 7-1 with that victory, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.7 points per game. As for Bridgewater-Raritan, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 4-6.
Phillipsburg will face off against Colonia at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. As for Bridgewater-Raritan, they will head out on the road to face off against North Hunterdon at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.
