Find the next number in the number series: 48, 24, 72, 36, 108, ?

The series follows an alternating pattern of dividing by 2 and multiplying by 3. Starting with 48: divide by 2 to get 24, multiply by 3 to get 72, divide by 2 to get 36, and multiply by 3 to get 108. Following this pattern, the next step is to divide 108 by 2, resulting in 54.