Senior forward Nick Christensen responded with 14 points Tuesday night as the Fulton Hornets reached the .500 mark in the North Central Missouri Conference with a 56-44 victory over Kirksville.
Fulton - which won both regular-season meetings with Kirksville - improved to 10-8 overall and evened its NCMC mark at 4-4. The Hornets also downed the Tigers 57-49 on Dec. 17 in Fulton.
The Hornets built a 16-9 lead after one quarter Tuesday night and pushed their advantage to 29-17 at halftime. Fulton carried a 43-34 lead into the fourth quarter.
"It was one of those days where everything came together on both ends of the floor," Hornets assistant coach Tom Arms said. "We ran our offense well and we played hard on defense.
"We've been looking for this type of effort."
Senior guard Jermaine Gray, junior forward Nick Seelinger and sophomore guard Deon Galbreath added eight points apiece for Fulton.
Nathan Lamp paced Kirksville with a game-high 23 points.
Meanwhile, the Hornets' junior varsity squad raised its season record to 10-1 with a 50-13 romp. Junior guard Austin Moore connected for a team-high 15 points and junior forward Joe Ryan Anderson contributed 11.
Fulton returns home for an NCMC clash against Hannibal at 6 p.m. Friday at Roger D. Davis Gymnasium. The Hornets will be looking to avenge a 65-50 loss at Hannibal on Jan. 4.
•Note: The Hornets will be hosting a food drive at Friday night's games to benefit SERVE, Inc. Admission is two canned or boxed food items; otherwise, the regular admission of $3 for adults and $2 for students will be charged.
All food and money collected Friday night will be donated to SERVE.
South Callaway basketball (VB)...........70
Hallsville..............................................60
HALLSVILLE - Senior guard Will Brandt launched in a game-high 31 points Tuesday night in the Bulldogs' 10-point Mid-Missouri Conference win over the Indians.
Brandt went 11-of-17 from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, and made 3-of-5 free throws. He also handed out a team-high five assists, grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots.
South Callaway was only up 12-9 after the first quarter, but then outscored Hallsville by a combined 38-22 in the second and third quarters to expand its lead to 50-31 going into the final 8 minutes.
The Indians then erupted for 29 points in the fourth quarter, knocking down six 3-pointers, but the Bulldogs preserved the victory by hitting 8-of-11 free throws during that span.
"Give credit to Hallsville for putting together one of the best quarters against us all year," South Callaway head coach Tony Brandt said. "... I was really proud of how our guys maintained composure and withstood the run."
With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 10-8 overall and 3-1 in the MMC. South Callaway had not played since a 50-39 victory over New Bloomfield in the fifth-place game of the Sturgeon Tournament on Jan. 29.
"I was pleased with our effort (Tuesday night)," Tony Brandt said. "We haven't played well on the road and are trying to change our mentality when we aren't in our own gym."
Senior forward Jacob Wolfe - who was 5-of-9 from the field - produced 12 points for South Callaway, which shot 56 percent (24-of-43) as a team and committed 11 turnovers. Senior guard Bryan Lechner chipped in with nine points, while senior forward Eli Bartley pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
"I felt we did a really nice job of dictating tempo early and applying pressure from the start," Tony Brandt said. "It was also nice to see us share the ball. We had eleven assists spread through five players and really had nice rhythm on offense.
"I felt we played to our strengths and didn't force many shots."
Matthew Cox answered with 15 points to guide three players in double figures for Hallsville. Brandon Copenhaver was next with 11 points and Michael Cox finished with 10.
The Bulldogs travel to North Callaway for an MMC encounter at 6 p.m. Friday. South Callaway held off the Thunderbirds 52-50 on Dec. 14 at Mokane.
Harrisburg............................................57
North Callaway basketball (VB)...........52
HARRISBURG - The Thunderbirds, returning from a 13-day layoff, were outscored 9-4 in overtime in Tuesday night's Mid-Missouri Conference loss to the Bulldogs.
North Callaway forced overtime when junior forward Jared Graves scored underneath with 9 seconds to play in regulation, tying the game 48-48. The Thunderbirds trailed 41-33 entering the fourth quarter, but outscored Harrisburg 15-7 to send the contest to the extra period.
Senior forward Andrew Attebery came up with 15 points - including all four of North Callaway's in overtime - and collected nine rebounds to direct the Thunderbirds. Graves came off the bench to score eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter.
The loss dropped North Callaway to 5-12 overall and 1-3 in the MMC. The Thunderbirds hadn't played since a 57-45 conference loss at Southern Boone on Jan. 26.
"The team played hard (Tuesday night), but we just didn't have our game legs," North Callaway head coach Tim Turlington said. "Going that long without a practice makes it really hard."
Eric Penton led Harrisburg (8-8, 2-2) with a game-high 19 points and Tyler Rasmussen tallied 18.
Sophomore guard Justin Murphy delivered 15 of his career-high 20 points in the second half to help lift the Thunderbirds (7-4) to a 51-46 triumph in the junior varsity game. Sophomore forward Logan Robinett supplied nine points.
North Callaway hosts MMC rival South Callaway for courtwarming at 6 p.m. Friday. The Thunderbirds bowed to the Bulldogs 52-50 on Dec. 14 at Mokane.
North Callaway plans player-parent
meeting for spring sports on Tuesday
KINGDOM CITY - North Callaway High School has scheduled its spring sports meeting for all student-athletes - and their parents - participating in baseball, track and field and golf.
The meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the high school's media center.
Items to be discussed include drug-testing procedures, team rules, player expectations and sportsmanship. Coaches will pass out game and practice schedules at Tuesday night's meeting, and will also be available to answer questions.