ASHLAND - The Fulton Hornets persevered in a late-night marathon.
No. 3 seed Fulton outscored No. 6 California 13-8 in the third overtime to escape with a 75-50 win in first-round play Tuesday night at the Southern Boone Classic.
Fulton (12-5) owned a 39-34 lead heading to the fourth quarter, but California rallied by outscoring the Hornets 13-8 over the final 8 minutes to pull even at 47-all and force the first overtime. The game was then tied at 58-all, sending it to the second extra period, and 62-all to require the third overtime.
Fulton was finally able to gain some separation in picking up its sixth victory in the last seven games.
"We knew coming in it would be a dogfight," Hornets head coach Justin Gilmore said Wednesday afternoon. "They (Pintos) were hot and had just beat a good Boonville team by 15 points.
"We knew it wasn't going to be an easy three-six (seed) game."
Senior guards Radarion Glover and Kalin Mitchell shared game scoring honors with 23 points apiece to direct Fulton.
"It was all about execution and focus (in the overtimes), because you're not going to get a whole lot of possessions," Gilmore said. "I'm sure they were tired.
"With everybody playing the minutes they did, and to do the right thing and not have any lapses, they did a tremendous job."
Jaylin Freeman countered with 22 points to pace three players in double figures for California. Landon Mouse and Jacob Wolken tallied 13 points apiece.
The Hornets move on to a semifinal confrontation with No. 2 seed Southern Boone at 7:30 tonight. The Eagles - ranked No. 7 in Class 3 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association - advanced with a 58-43 first-round triumph over No. 7 seed Harrisburg on Tuesday night.
Fulton will also be looking to redeem itself after bowing to Southern Boone 79-71 in round-robin play at the California Tournament on Jan. 11.
"We've got to stop penetration and contain them," Gilmore said. "They had a lot of layups (in first meeting) and we couldn't stop their drives.
"It's going to come down to execution on the defensive end - we have to get stops and rebounds."