Hornets 'dominate' Marshall 85-39 in NCMC opener

Four finish in double figures as Fulton ups its record to 5-0

Fulton head coach Ryan Shaw's assessment of the Hornets' performance against the Marshall Owls sounds boastful.

But that doesn't make it any less true.

"I don't think there's any aspect of this game that we didn't dominate tonight," Shaw said. "That sounds arrogant, but it's a fact."

Fulton controlled Marshall on both ends of the floor in continuing its perfect start with an 85-39 romp to open North Central Missouri Conference play Friday night at Roger D. Davis Gymnasium.

The Hornets (5-0) are off to their best start in Shaw's three years at the helm.

"It's very gratifying, very satisfying to see them have success," Shaw said. "I've been doing this 21 years and have had success before, but you want to see the kids have success."

The Hornets quickly pulled themselves out of a 5-0 hole to start the game. Senior forward Austin Wilson's layup with 3 minutes, 22 seconds left in the first quarter gave Fulton its first lead at 9-7.

The Hornets concluded the quarter on an 8-2 spurt, highlighted by senior guard Ricky Dawson's steal and one-handed dunk, to go up.

"That was off a steal in transition, in traffic and everybody just got fired up after that," Shaw said.

Dawson finished with a game-high 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting to lead four Fulton players in double figures.

If the outcome looked even a bit in doubt after a quarter, the Hornets eliminated that uncertainty in the second period.

Senior forward Devin Gibson kicked off the quarter with a 3-pointer to extend Fulton's advantage to 20-9. Marshall senior forward Jared Armstrong's basket on the Owls' ensuing possession got them back to within nine points with 6:49 remaining in the half.

Dawson and Wilson, though, responded with conventional three-point plays on back-to-back possessions to push Fulton out to a 26-11 cushion at the 6:17 mark.

While the Hornets continued to pile on the points, Fulton's defense was the difference on the night in Shaw's opinion. The Hornets limited Marshall to just four points over the final 5:25 and carried a stout 42-16 lead into halftime.

"Tonight, it was defense," Shaw said. "We watched (Marshall) on film, we told them what they were going to do and our guys got under that free-throw line screen and challenged every shot, and we worked on getting our hands up and challenging every shot and it was just a great defensive effort."

The Owls shot a paltry 28 percent (10-of-36) from the field. Armstrong scored Marshall's first points of the game on a 3-pointer, but the Owls would go on to miss their final 16 attempts from behind the arc.

Armstrong guided Marshall with 19 points and junior guard Zach Maupin added 11.

"A good 3-point shooting team - which they are - will hit some, but we got out and challenged (shots)," Shaw said.

Fulton, meanwhile, torched Marshall with a sizzling 57-percent shooting clip (25-of-44), hitting 7-of-15 tries from 3-point range. Wilson posted a double-double with 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, seven coming on the offensive end.

Senior forward Sam Christensen provided 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds for the Hornets. Gibson tallied 11 points and hauled in six rebounds.

Fulton nearly doubled up the Owls on the glass, ending the game with a 51-26 rebounding advantage.

"We rebounded really well," Shaw said. "I don't think we gave up very many offensive rebounds when it mattered. We owned the boards."

With the NCMC win, the Hornets equaled their conference victory total from last season and is a win short of its overall count from a year ago.

"I'll tell you what makes it worth it is walking in there and seeing the looks on their faces," Shaw said. "The sheer enjoyment, they really looked like they enjoyed playing basketball tonight."

Fulton (1-1) prevailed over Marshall 54-48 in the junior varsity game.

The Hornets continue NCMC play at home with a varsity girls-boys' doubleheader against Boonville starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday.