NEW BOSTON – Stress fractures are putting a lot of stress on the Green Bobcats and coach Kevin Lewis.

Saturday, January 08, 2000

NEW BOSTON – Stress fractures are putting a lot of stress on the Green Bobcats and coach Kevin Lewis.

Starter Alex Poe has yet to play due to a stress fracture in his foot an d key backup Joe Salyers also remains out with a stress fracture of his foot, and starting point guard Ben Dyer went down last week with a fractured foot.

To make things worse, leading scorer Chris Williams got in early foul trouble and sat out most of the first half. And to cap the evening, the Bobcats were on the road against a talented New Boston Tigers team.

Guess what?

Yep, the Bobcats overcame all obstacles to get a 61-58 win and improved their record to 5-0 overall and in the Southern Ohio Conference.

Michael Riffe scored 20 points to lead the Bobcats. Williams still managed 14 points and Kyle Dyer scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Jeff Dixon added 9 points and handed out eight assists while Jacob Yarnell hauled down 10 rebounds.

"To get that kind of balanced scoring with the lineup we had, that’s just people stepping up. That’s a big league win to go on the road and win at a place that tough against the adversity we’re facing," said Lewis.

Chris McGraw had 23 points to pace New Boston.

Riffe scored 9 points the first quarter as he buried three 3-pointers, but McGraw scored 11 points for the Tigers and the game was tied 17-17.

"Michael Riffe had a good all-around game and stepped up early and hit some big shots, and then he converted his free throws down the stretch," said Lewis. "Dixon did a good job. He just missed double figures and had eight assists, and we put him on Caldwell when we were in man-to-man.

"Kyle Dyer and Kyle Darnell battled and battled on the boards. And we were happy with their post defense. McGraw had 23 points, but he worked for everything he got."

With Williams plagued by fouls and sitting out the second quarter, New Boston took a 28-25 halftime lead.

"We felt good to be down only three and Williams hadn’t played much the first half," said Lewis.

Williams returned the third quarter and knocked down 8 points as Green took the lead at 43-40.

Kyle Dyer and Williams had 4 points each and Riffe sank 5-of-6 at the line as Green held on for the win. Lewis said the foul shooting by Riffe was big, but he said a 3-pointer by Dixon may have been the key basket.

"Dixon hit a big shot in a critical situation," said Lewis.

Green plays at Coal Grove Wednesday, then travels to Symmes Valley Friday.