MARSHALL, Mo. - The Fulton Hornets got back on track ahead of the third act in a showdown.
Junior forward Cameron Vaughn and senior guard Justin Adams both produced double-doubles as Fulton posted a 70-57 North Central Missouri Conference victory over the Marshall Owls on Tuesday night.
The Hornets raised their season record to 15-4 and improved to 6-1 in the NCMC. Fulton was coming off a 49-47 loss to state-ranked Southern Boone in the championship of the Southern Boone Classic last Saturday night, which halted the Hornets' seven-game winning streak.
Tuesday night's matchup was even at 9-all after the first quarter, but Fulton responded by outscoring Marshall 22-10 in the second quarter and went into the break with a 31-19 edge. The Hornets carried a 50-39 lead into the fourth quarter and outscored the Owls 20-18 over the last 8 minutes to clinch the win.
The Hornets finished 13-of-15 from the free-throw line and completed the season sweep of the Owls after a 73-53 victory on Dec. 19 in Fulton.
Vaughn directed the Hornets with a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday night, while Adams contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard AJ Reid handed out seven assists.
"It was another night where we had to grind one out from start to finish," Fulton head coach Justin Gilmore said. "We got up by 10 or 12 (points) and were able to keep the lead for all of the second half.
"We took care of the ball down the stretch and hit our free throws to seal the game late."
Gage Lewis led Marshall with 14 points and Jace Lance was next with 13.
"We played a full 32 minutes of defense," Gilmore said. "We challenged (senior guard) Devin Masek and (junior guard) Makygh Galbreath to defend and take away their two best offensive players, and both of them came up huge for us on the defensive side of the ball."
Speaking of Southern Boone, the Hornets return to Ashland for the second time in five days when they clash with the Eagles - ranked No. 2 in Class 3 - at 8:15 tonight. Fulton also fell to Southern Boone 75-56 at the California Tournament on Jan. 11.
"We played them very close a week ago and if we have aspirations of beating them, it's going to take a full, team-focused effort for 32 minutes," Gilmore said. "It should be a fun and competitive game for our guys."