Senior forward Austin Wilson produced a game-high 21 points, but the Hornets couldn't overcome 20 turnovers in a 70-66 narrow semifinal loss to the rival Bulldogs on Thursday night at the 81st-annual California Tournament.
No. 3 seed Mexico will play the top-seeded California Pintos for the tournament title at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The Pintos - ranked No. 10 in Class 3 - advanced with a 63-57 win over the No. 4 seed Fatima Comets in Thursday night's other semifinal matchup.
The No. 2 seed Hornets will square off against Fatima for third place game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Early mistakes put Fulton (8-4) down 15-2 to Mexico, but the Hornets closed within 27-17 after one quarter.
The Bulldogs' offense went cold in the second quarter, allowing Fulton to overtake the Bulldogs. The Hornets outscored Mexico 15-1 in the period and went into halftime with a 32-28 lead.
The Bulldogs (9-0) started the third quarter on a 14-2 run to grab a 40-34 advantage. Mexico led by as many as seven points in the quarter, but it was Fulton that took a 49-48 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Hornets went up 60-56 on a basket by senior forward Devin Gibson, but the Bulldogs answered with a 14-6 run to close out the victory.
Gibson finished with 15 points and tied for the game-high with nine rebounds. Fulton shot 51 percent (24-of-47) as a team and outrebounded Mexico 37-28.
Junior guard D'Milo Nunnelly paced the Bulldogs (10-0) with 17 points, while senior guard Skylar Harrington logged 16 points. Mexico shot just 37 percent (22-of-59) from the field.
Mexico had previously clipped the Hornets 73-63 in North Central Missouri Conference play Jan. 9 in Fulton.