The Phillipsburg Stateliners waltzed into their contest on Thursday with 12 straight wins but they left with 13. They slipped by Ridge 48-47. That result was just more of the same for these two, as Phillipsburg also won the last time the pair played two weeks ago.
Phillipsburg's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Matthew Scerbo jr., who scored 17 points along with six rebounds and five assists. That makes it three consecutive games in which Scerbo jr. has scored at least a third of Phillipsburg's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Andrew Martin, who scored 16 points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
Phillipsburg's win was their tenth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-1. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.0 points per game. As for Ridge, their defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-4.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Phillipsburg will challenge Somerville at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Somerville will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps New Jersey Rankings (they are ranked 164th, while Phillipsburg is ranked 11th). As for Ridge, they will head out on the road to challenge Gill St. Bernard's at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Gill St. Bernard's has now lost seven straight, and the team is hunting for their first win since January 2.
