MEXICO - When asked to pinpoint what went awry during his team's loss to the rival Mexico Bulldogs to end the regular season, Fulton Hornets head coach Ryan Shaw kept coming back to one word.
Physicality.
Whenever the Hornets seemed to pull themselves back within striking distance, the Bulldogs had an answer on their way to a 65-59 North Central Missouri Conference win Friday night.
Fulton (16-9, 6-6 NCMC) lost all three meetings with Mexico this season and has dropped the last 12 matchups with its Highway 54 foe.
Mexico - once ranked in the top 10 in Class 4 - pumped the brakes on its own seven-game losing streak Friday night.
The Bulldogs' defense set the rhythm of the contest early on with its half-court press and mixture of zone schemes once Fulton crossed halfcourt.
The Hornets' first few offensive possessions featured drives to the basket and kick outs to open 3-point shooters. Senior guard Austin Wilson and junior guard Kalin Mitchell both logged a pair of 3s to push Fulton to an early four-point edge.
Jump shots, though, became more of the norm for the Hornets as the first quarter wore on. If Fulton insisted on driving to the rim, Mexico defenders were going to put a body on them, something Shaw felt might have stunted the Hornets' aggressiveness.
"I though the physicality maybe got to us a bit; we got bumped on a lot of shots and we weren't able to finish," Shaw said. "We got bumped on every jump shot, got bumped on every drive to the hole, so I thought the physicality really got to us more than anything."
The Bulldogs led 19-11 after one quarter and stretched that advantage to 10 points on three occasions in the second quarter. Mexico went up 31-21 on senior guard Cole Jaramillo's 3-pointer with 3:12 left in the half.
The Hornets countered with a 10-2 run to close the half, using junior guard De'Areyon Estes' 3 with :07 left to pull within 33-31 at halftime.
Senior forward Sam Christensen's layup with 6:26 left in the third quarter gave the Hornets a slight 36-35 lead, but that would be the last points Fulton would tally for nearly 5 minutes.
The Bulldogs produced nine straight points to push their lead back to eight. Junior guard Radarion Glover's free throws with :25 left in the quarter trimmed the Hornets' deficit to 47-43, but Mexico answered with a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to carry a six-point advantage into the fourth quarter.
"We knew we needed to make a run," Shaw said. "... When things get close, we're pretty good in a close game, but we just couldn't handle the physicality. That's as simple as I can put it."
Fulton's deficit grew to as many as eight points in the final quarter, but it was only down by five after Mexico senior forward Jake Landreth hit a free throw to make it 57-52 with 3:27 left.
Looking to narrow the gap even further, Hornets senior guard Ricky Dawson used an isolation play at the top of the key with the hope of getting to the free-throw line.
On Dawson's previous two tries, he got to the line and knocked down free throws. This time, Dawson - off the drive - got the shot to go in, but an offensive foul call wiped out the basket and Fulton's opportunity to draw within a basket.
"The charge call on Ricky was huge. ... I think it was pivotal and I don't think we quite recovered from that," Shaw said.
The Hornets closed within three points twice in the final :50, but Mexico sealed its victory at the line.
Dawson led Fulton with a game-high 14 points, while senior forward Devin Gibson added 12. Wilson finished with 11 points, while Christensen chipped in with six.
Junior forward Malik Holman tallied 13 points to spark Mexico. Junior guard James Norton supplied 11 points off the bench and senior guard Skylar Harrington scored all 10 of his in the second half.
Fulton opens up Class 4, District 8 play as the No. 3 seed. The Hornets square off against No. 6 seed Hannibal at 6 p.m. Monday in Kirksville. The Hornets split the season series with the NCMC foe Pirates, highlighted by a 74-64 triumph Thursday night in Fulton.
"We're road-tested, we're tough," Shaw said. "We've played everybody in the district and we're right there with the top three teams (along with No. 1 seed Moberly and No. 2 Mexico) in the district, and I think the three of us have the ability to win it."
Josh Mosley can be reached at (573) 826-2423, or by email at [email protected].