PDT Sports Writer

ROSEMOUNT - Green declawed the Clay Panthers in the team's SOC I opener.

The Bobcats put together a span of 8:04 where they outscored Clay 30-2. From the 2:51 mark of the opening quarter to the 2:47 point of the second quarter, Clay only had one field goal while Green was scoring at will.

The Bobcats' 87-49 triumph takes them to 1-1 on the year and 1-0 in the SOC. The loss drops Clay to 0-1 on the year and in the conference.

Through the first two quarters the Panthers committed 20 turnovers, which equaled their point output. The Bobcats, on the other hand, only committed seven turnovers in the first half. Green opened the second stanza on a 13-0 tear to open up an 18-point lead. Then, after a Evan Keaton field goal the Cats exploded on another 17-0 run to bust open a 46-13 advantage with 2:25 left in the first half.

“Our goal was to come in with intensity and we did that,” said Green coach David Hopper. “We didn't want to let up no matter how much were up. We wanted come in with intensity and put it away early.”

The Bobcats were led in the scoring column by Austin Pollard who had 18 points.

“We came out playing hard, we just ran the floor a lot,” said Pollard, “We came out and ran the score up and our defense was playing good and forced turnovers.”

Matt Clarke added 15 and Chris Willard added 12 points with five rebounds, four assists and five steals. Randy Ratcliff pulled down 10 boards to lead tthe Bobcats. Every player on the Green roster scored with all but one recording a field goal.

“Rebounding has been a goal of this team for over a year now,” said Hopper. “This one of the first nights we‘ve controlled the boards as a team.”

For Clay, Keaton led the way with 13 points and 12 rebounds to record his first double-double of the year.

In the first quarter Clay was hanging tough, but a drought that spanned the last 2:52 of the period allowed Green to take a six-point lead into the second quarter.

In the second quarter was when the Green offense and defense turned up the heat. Green had 13 points in the span of 1:10 thanks, in part, to four early Clay turnovers. Green outscored the Panthers 32-9 in the quarter and built a 28-point lead by the break.

Clay came out in the third quarter and held the Bobcats without a field goal for the first 4:25 in the period. The Bobcats still managed to put up 13 before the buzzer sounded at the close of the third quarter.

Green came out in the fourth with a purpose and poured in 26 points in the final stanza to put an exclamation point on the victory and capture its conference opener on the road.

BRET BEVENS can be reached at (740)-353-3101 ext. 242

Green 16 32 13 26 - 87

Clay 11 9 14 16 - 49

Green - Clarke 5 3 13, Tyler 3 1 7. Willard 4 2 12, Reyce 4 0 9, Otworth 0 2 2, Lewis 1 0 2, Pollard 8 1 18, Ratcliff 2 2 6, Pinkerton 2 1 3, Bailey 2 0 5, Poe 4 0 8; Totals 35 12 87.

3-pointers - Clarke (2), Willard (2), Reyce, Pollard, Bailey.

Clay - Keaton 6 1 13, Mershon 2 0 5, Kennison 3 1 7, Parker 3 0 7, Keen 1 0 3, Crapyon 3 0 6, McKenzie 1 0 3, Dodrill 1` 0 3, Ratcliff 0 2 2; Totals 20 4 49.

3-pointers Mershon, McKenzie, Dodrill, Parker, Keen

Record - Green 1-1, (1-0), Clay 0-1, (0-1)