Senior guard Anthony Porter delivered a team-high 20 points Tuesday night to help steer the Fulton Hornets to their third straight victory, 58-52 over the California Pintos.
Sophomore guard Deon Galbreath added 10 points for Fulton (4-1), which bolted to an 18-8 lead after one quarter and extended its advantage to 40-27 at halftime.
California outscored the Hornets 21-6 in the third quarter to close within 46-40, but Fulton was able to preserve the win.
Taron Morris paced the Pintos with 20 points.
The Hornets (3-0) - led by junior center Jake Nickelson's 19 points and 10 rebounds - rolled to a 54-30 triumph in the junior varsity game. Freshman forward Dalton Horstmeier chipped in with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while junior guard Austin Moore had 12 points and 10 assists.
Fulton returns home for a North Central Missouri Conference encounter against Kirksville at 6 p.m. Friday at Roger D. Davis Gymnasium. The Hornets then play at Bowling Green at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Cuba............................................73
N. Bloomfield basketball (VB).....62
LINN - The No. 4 seed Wildcats were not able to recover from a 33-15 first-quarter deficit in Tuesday night's first-round loss at the 50th-annual Linn Invitational Tournament.
The No. 5 Cuba Wildcats went into halftime with a 48-34 advantage and led New Bloomfield 61-47 to start the fourth quarter.
"(Cuba) hit some shots against our zone defense, so we had to go man-to-man and they pounded it inside," New Bloomfield head coach Tyler Clark said. "They're a physical team."
Wasted in the loss was a 33-point outburst by New Bloomfield senior guard Aaron Bedsworth, who set a tournament record by knocking down eight 3-pointers.
"When Aaron shoots the three, it's almost like a layup," Clark said. "I expect that out of him, he's a good player. We just have to get more scoring from our other players."
Sophomore forward Greg Bedsworth added 13 points for New Bloomfield, which slipped to 2-3.
Kody Ettinger answered with 27 points to guide Cuba, while Caleb Sanders followed closely with 26.
New Bloomfield faces No. 8 Belle in the consolation semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Tuscumbia....................................60
MSD basketball (VB)....................54
The host Eagles fell behind the Lions 20-8 after one quarter in Tuesday night's loss.
Missouri School for the Deaf was down 33-18 at halftime and 44-36 to start the fourth quarter.
Freshman guard Nick Jones topped the Eagles (1-7) with a game-high 28 points and senior center Markese Byrd was next with 14.
"We had a lot more fast-break opportunities and our rebounding was much-improved," MSD head coach Kevin Voelker said. "We also did a better job of scoring in the paint."
Wyatt Ahart led Tuscumbia with 18 points and Tim McPherson contributed 14.
The Eagles return from the holiday break to host Chamois at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 6.
William Woods basketball (W)....97
Lindenwood U.-Belleville.............40
BELLEVILLE, Ill. - The unbeaten No. 13 Lady Owls put the squeeze on the Lynx in the first half of Monday night's blowout, limiting them to only 12 points on a disastrous 14-percent shooting performance.
Senior forward Rachel Baker responded with a game-high 13 points for William Woods University (10-0), which coasted into the break with a commanding 42-12 lead. Junior center Jordan Floyd also provided 10 points for the Lady Owls, who shot 51 percent (36-of-70) as a team and committed 14 turnovers.
Baker pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to power William Woods to a resounding 59-37 advantage on the boards.
Ashley Will ended up with 10 points to pace Lindenwood-Belleville (4-9), which made just 5-of-37 shots in the first half. The Lynx shot a dismal 22 percent (16-of-73) for the game and recorded 15 turnovers.
The Lady Owls play two games in two days in Babson Park, Fla., beginning against Webber International at 6 p.m. Friday. William Woods then squares off against No. 15 Xavier (La.) University at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Blue Jays' Tolson earns
SLIAC basketball award
Westminster College sophomore Skylar Tolson has been named the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball player of the week for Dec. 6-12.
Tolson - a 6-foot-2 guard from Columbia (Rock Bridge) - tallied 16 points in the Blue Jays' 73-71 non-conference home loss to Illinois College last Saturday. He finished 5-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range, and also made 3-of-4 free throws.
Tolson also grabbed eight rebounds and handed out seven assists.
Westminster (4-4) - which has lost two straight - remains at home for a non-conference matchup against Central (Iowa) College at 3 p.m. Saturday.
FMS basketball (7th-8th/B)..........46
Kirksville......................................39
The host Hornets outscored the Tigers 17-4 in the third quarter Tuesday night to pick up their second win in a row.
Ricky Dawson and De'Angelo Walker came up with 12 points apiece to guide Fulton Middle School (3-4), which trailed 19-18 at halftime but opened up a 35-23 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Sam Christensen produced 10 points and 10 rebounds to go with four blocks, four assists and four steals for the Hornets. James Pittman provided 10 points, six assists and three steals.
"We started to execute on offense and we played probably our best defense of the season (in the third quarter)," FMS coach Dick Keller said. "We created a lot of turnovers and scored a lot of points off fast breaks."
The Hornets play at Boonville at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.
FMS basketball (7th-8th/G).........28
Kirksville......................................14
The host Lady Hornets allowed just five first-half points - shutting out the Lady Tigers in the second quarter - to halt a two-game losing streak Tuesday night.
NaShayla Brandt supplied 16 points and 11 rebounds to direct Fulton Middle School (5-2), which took a 14-5 advantage into halftime. Dacrie Depping chipped in with four points.
"We had a solid defensive performance, probably one of our best all year," Lady Hornets coach TJ Quick said. "We needed that; it was a good team effort."
FMS travels to Boonville at 6 p.m. Thursday.
S. Callaway basketball (8th/B).....35
N. Callaway..................................31
AUXVASSE - The Bulldogs outscored the Thunderbirds 14-8 in the fourth quarter Monday night to rally for the four-point win.
Luke Horstman connected for a team-high 16 points to spur South Callaway, which overcame a 23-21 deficit going into the final period. Cory Hanger contributed eight points for the Bulldogs.
South Callaway ends its season tonight at Southern Boone.
N. Callaway basketball (8th/G)....30
S. Callaway...................................26
AUXVASSE - Taylor Hollenburg finished with a team-high eight points Monday night to help send the Ladybirds past the Lady Bulldogs.
Danielle Cassidy added seven points for North Callaway, which completes its season against Southern Boone on Saturday at the high school in Kingdom City.
Jackson Caswell leads
Fulton Kids Wrestling
Club at Union tournament
UNION - Jackson Caswell claimed championships in two different weight classes in his age division to guide the Fulton Kids Wrestling Club at the Union Open on Sunday.
Also logging first-place finishes for Fulton were Clayton Bristol, Colton Bristol, Eli Henry, Milo Henry, Grant Wright, Isaiah Pani, Owen Uhls, Trenton Clines and Tucker Caswell.
Austin Anderson, Jadon Henry and Josh Dunmire were second-place finishers, while Dylan Anderson, Keaton Rice and Dawson Wright recorded third-place finishes.
Clines and Sam Hrabovsky captured titles for Fulton last Saturday at the Highland (Ill.) Howl. Second-place finishers included Uhls, Tucker Caswell and Zoey Hrabovsky, while Jackson Caswell, Jacob Kern and Jaron Kern each took third.