Phillipsburg Boys basketball had a season and home opening game against Scotch Plains-Fanwood this past Saturday. Last season, Phillipsburg had a winning record of 12-10 and a pretty decent season. This season they had expectations to beat that record and succeed this winter. Those expectations were very reachable when Phillipsburg had a huge scrimmage win against Seton Hall prep.
In the first quarter, it was a very slow start for both teams. Phillipsburg struggled to get points on the board. Scotch Plains did not get much either. The score after the first quarter was Phillipsburg 4 – Scotch Plains 9.
The second quarter showed that both teams started to pick it up a little bit. Scotch Plains shot amazingly from beyond the arc and Pburg’s defense seemed like they could not stop them. Khadar Jackson of Scotch Plains was the main shooter making four of them beyond the arc the whole game, with the team making seven.
The first half ended with a score of Phillipsburg 19 – Scotch Plains 26. Phillipsburg’s offense did look a little sloppy in the first half and they struggled to get points on the board. Despite this, they retaliated and gained confidence in scoring again.
The second half started with a lot of scoring from both teams. Scotch Plains kept making threes, but Pburg kept up with them the whole entire third quarter. They definitely showed better offense in the third quarter than they did the whole game. The third quarter ended with Pburg still trailing 39- 44.
The fourth quarter is where Phillipsburg really started to show up. Junior Andrew Martin and sophomore Matthew Scerbo led the team for most of the quarter. Martin, who scored 16 points and had four rebounds, really showed that he is dangerous in the paint with no fear of contact. Scerbo, who scored 15 points, had four rebounds and seven assists, displayed that he can create opportunities from the backcourt and shoot from mid range to get easy buckets.
Phillipsburg definitely played as a team in the fourth to get the win 54-50.
Although Phillipsburg struggled in the first three quarters, they really sparked in the fourth with amazing scoring and defense. Senior Jason Martinez was a leader of this team with a statline of six points, seven rebounds, and five assists. He has shown that he is a hustler on this team. Martin and Scerbo sent a message that they will be one of the best scoring pairs in the Skyland Conference.
Overall this team shows a lot of potential to be very dangerous and they will be very fun to watch throughout the season. People should start to believe in Phillipsburg basketball.
Final Score: Phillipsburg 54 – Scotch Plains-Fanwood 50
