The Fulton Hornets dug themselves out of a double-digit hole in the second half for the second time in as many outings.
Fulton outscored Southern Boone 27-14 in the fourth quarter to steal a 68-65 win over the Eagles on Friday night. The Hornets erased an 18-point deficit in registering a 58-56 North Central Missouri Conference home win over Marshall last Tuesday night.
"We have a toughness and a grittiness about us down the stretch," Fulton head coach Ryan Shaw said. "Teams haven't been able to put us away down the stretch."
Fulton (14-7) - down as many as 14 points in the third quarter Friday night - trailed 51-41 to start the final 8 minutes. The Hornets took the lead for good when senior forward Devin Gibson's 3-pointer pushed them ahead 63-62 in the waning moments.
Gibson - finishing just 2-of-8 from 3-point range - scored 10 points as one of five Fulton players in double figures.
"Devin likes that kind of shot and that was actually a set play for him to get a shot," Shaw said. "... Obviously, I had confidence in him to take the shot."
Gibson's basket on the Hornets' next possession stretched their advantage to three points, but the Eagles responded with a basket to pull within 65-64. Fulton added three more free throws to close out its fourth victory in its last five games.
Down 28-13 entering the second quarter, the Hornets outscored Southern Boone 16-8 to draw within 36-29 at halftime.
A basket by junior guard Kalin Mitchell cut Fulton's deficit to 36-33 early in the third quarter, but the Eagles responded with an 8-0 run to stretch their lead back to 11 points. A pair of free throws by Skylar Jennings gave Southern Boone its largest lead of the second half at 48-34.
Senior guard Ricky Dawson scored 12 of his team-high 18 points in the second half for the Hornets, who shot just 35 percent (22-of-63) for the game. Mitchell added 12 points, while junior guard Radarion Glover tallied 11 points and four steals off the bench.
"He absolutely brought a new level of energy to us," Shaw said of Glover. "His defensive energy carried us."
Fulton senior forward Sam Christensen scored just two points, but collected a game-high 14 rebounds as the Hornets dominated the Eagles on the boards 47-32.
Maguire Scheer scored all of his game-high 20 points in the first half for Southern Boone. The Eagles shot 46 percent (23-of-50) from the field.
The Hornets improved to 12-4 with a 69-56 junior varsity triumph.
Fulton comes home for a North Central Missouri Conference contest against the Kirksville Tigers on Tuesday night. The junior varsity game will be at 5 p.m. at Westminster College, while the varsity contest is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 at Roger D. Davis Gymnasium.
The Hornets topped the Tigers 78-67 on Dec. 19 in Kirksville.