Two game-tying 3-pointers and two overtimes later, the Fulton Hornets punched their ticket to a Class 4, District 8 semifinal match with an all-too-familiar foe.
The No. 3-seeded Hornets outscored the No. 6 Hannibal Pirates 19-8 in the second overtime to pull away with an 84-73 first-round triumph on Monday night.
Fulton (17-9) advances to a semifinal showdown with Highway 54 foe and No. 2 seeded Mexico at 9 p.m. on Thursday. The Bulldogs - 65-59 winners over the Hornets last Friday night - received a first-round bye.
Fulton buried tying 3-pointers in the closing moments of both regulation and the first extra session. Senior forward Devin Gibson's triple with 14 seconds left in the fourth knotted the game at 54-all and punctuated a final frame in which the Hornets trailed by as many as seven points.
"(Gibson) was a little more down tonight," Hornets head coach Ryan Shaw said. "He was not extremely confident tonight and when he's not confident, that's when we run sets for him to show that we believe in him.
Fulton scored the first five points of overtime, but Hannibal responded with an 8-3 spurt to grab a 65-62 edge. The Hornets rang another game-tying shot from long distance, this time from junior guard Kalin Mitchell.
Mitchell - who finished with 20 points on 5-of-9 3-pointers - netted a trey with :20 to go in the extra frame to tie the contest at 65-all and force an additional 5-minute period.
"In a big game, you get to the point where even though he's a junior, you expect (Mitchell) to step up," Shaw said.
Fulton kicked the next extra session with a 6-0 run, but they wouldn't relinquish this advantage. The Hornets made the lead stick thanks in large part to a 17-of-18 showing from the free-throw line in the final 5 minutes.
"The right guys got fouled; the guys with the highest percentages on the team got fouled," Shaw said. "That's really important."
Senior guard Ricky Dawson led Fulton with a game-high 21 points, while pulling down a team-high nine rebounds. Senior forward Austin Wilson added 16 points, while Gibson scored his 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting from long distance.
The Hornets shot 38 percent from the field (24-of-64). After getting pounded on the interior in last week's 74-64 road loss to Fulton, the Pirates packed the paint and used a box-and-one defense to neutralize Dawson.
The Hornets responded with an 11-of-29 showing from 3-point range.
Sophomore guard Eric Jones guided four Hannibal players in double figures with 18 points. Sophomore guard Shamar Griffith posted 17 points, senior guard Kael Rademan chipped in with 12 and junior forward Dylan Powell added 11 points.
The Pirates finished at 39 percent (26-of-67) from the field.
Powell and Jones led all players with 18 and 11 rebounds, respectively, as each team totaled 43 boards.
Awaiting Fulton is a Mexico squad they've lost their last 12 games to, including all three occasions this season.
"...The coaches do a fantastic job scouting and there are no secrets in our league and there aren't now," Shaw said. "We have to finish baskets and find holes in (the Bulldogs') zone."