WILLOW WOOD – The Green Bobcats could not have thought it was going to come this easy.

Sunday, January 16, 2000

WILLOW WOOD – The Green Bobcats could not have thought it was going to come this easy.

The Bobcats jumped out to a 15-0 lead at Symmes Valley Friday night and coasted to a 77-57 Southern Ohio Conference win.

"One of big things was that we came out with a lot of intensity early and it set the tone for the rest of the game," Green coach Kevin Lewis said. "This was a big SOC win for us."

The Bobcats (8-0, 6-0) were hardly the same team that the rest of the SOC had seen so far this year. Freshman guard Ben Dyer was playing in his first game since late December and senior forward Alex Poe was playing in just his second game of the season.

"With Dyer and Poe back in the lineup it gives us more depth and gives us the chance to get the guys a breather more often," Lewis said.

Chris Williams led the Bobcats and all scorers with 26 points but it was his five first-half 3-pointers and 21 first half points that kept the Vikings at a distance. Poe added 20 points and Michael Riffe added 13.

"You can’t get down 15-0 to a team like Green," Vikings coach Brent Wilcoxon said. "Our kids never quit. It was a five-point game after the bad start."

Justin Myers and Travis Wilson led Symmes Valley (4-5, 2-3) with 17 points respectively and Myers led all rebounders with 13.

Williams opened scoring with a 3-pointer and Kyle Dyer had six points to start the Bobcats.

Wilson scored six of his points closing the quarter and pulling the Vikings to within 21-9.

A Wilson layup with 5:53 left in the half got the Vikings to with 11 at 23-12 before Williams took over.

Williams hit three 3-pointers and a layup during a stretch that saw the Bobcats up their lead to 37-14 before the half.

While the Vikings cured the Williams problem at the half it was Poe who turned things up for the Bobcats in the third quarter. He hit jumpers from ten, three, nine, eight and six feet and converted a 3-point play at the end of the quarter giving the Bobcats a 58-42 lead.

Jeremy Copley gave the Vikings hope when he canned a pair of 3-pointers early in the fourth to cut the lead to 59-48.

Green then went on a 13-3 run that decided the issue. Riffe had four free throws and a layup off a fast break during the stretch that made it 72-51 with 1:58 left.

GREEN – 21 19 18 19 – 77: Ben Dyer 0 1 0-0 3, Jeff Dixon 0 1 0-0 3, Michael Riffe 5 0 3-3 13, Chris Williams 4 5 3-4 26, Kyle Dyer 4 0 1-2 9, Alex Poe 6 1 5-7 20, Kyle Darnell 0 0 3-4 3, Jacob Yarnell 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 27-61 (8) 15-20 77. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 28 (Poe 10). Turnovers: 7. Blocked shots: 2. Steals: 4 (Williams 2).

SYMMES VALLEY – 9 15 18 15 – 57: J.T. Pierce 0 0 0-0 0, Brad Carpenter 0 0 0-0 0, Noah Henson 0 1 1-4 4, Chris Lafon 0 0 0-0 0, Josh Blanton 0 1 3-3 6, Adam Corn 1 0 0-0 2, K. D. Payne 0 0 1-2 1, Justin Myers 4 1 6-6 17, Travis Wilson 7 1 0-0 17, Anthony Owens 0 1 1-2 4, Jeremy Copley 0 2 0-0 6. Totals: 19-55 (7) 12-17 57. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 32 (Myers 13). Turnovers: 12. Blocked shots: 5 (Wilson 4). Steals: 2.