Hornets surge into semifinals at Southern Boone

ASHLAND, Mo. - Fulton junior forward Cameron Vaughn responded with a game-high 14 points Tuesday night to help steer the No. 2 seed Hornets to a 58-43 first-round triumph over No. 7 California at the Southern Boone Classic.

The victory was the sixth straight and 11th in the last 13 games for Fulton (13-3), which now moves on to a fourth clash this season with North Central Missouri Conference rival Boonville in the semifinals at 6 tonight. The No. 3 seed Pirates survived in a 58-56 first-round win over No. 6 Fatima late Tuesday night when Nick Zeitlow scored on a putback as time expired.

The Hornets own back-to-back victories over Boonville after dropping the first meeting this season.

"Boonville is playing really well right now and it will take a full 32-minute effort to beat them for the third time," Fulton head coach Justin Gilmore said. " We know what their personnel is and what they do, but on the flip side they know all of that about us as well.

"The first three games were all close games that came down to the end, so I expect it to be a good test for our guys."

The Hornets were down 18-13 after one quarter Tuesday night, but outscored California 19-6 in the second quarter to take a 32-24 lead at the break. Fulton then pulled away by outscoring the Pintos 20-6 in the third quarter, extending its advantage to 52-30.

Junior guard Makygh Galbreath added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Hornets. Senior guard Justin Adams also provided seven points and eight rebounds.

" After the first quarter we really sat down and defended well, and we were able to get out and run and finish in transition," Gilmore said. "Everything starts on the defensive end for this team - we have to get stops to allow us to be successful on the other end.

"I thought the guys did a great job of forcing California into taking tough shots and then getting after it on the defensive glass."

Issac Ash topped the Pintos with 13 points and Wyatt Bestgen followed with 12.