MEXICO, Mo. - Fulton junior forward Cameron Vaughn recorded a double-double with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds, and the Hornets regrouped by closing the regular season with a 65-57 NCMC triumph over rival Mexico on Friday night.
Fulton - bouncing back after dropping consecutive conference games earlier in the week - raised its season record to 19-6 and finished second in the North Central Missouri Conference at 9-3.
The Hornets - who also beat Mexico 62-48 in their Nov. 22 season opener in Fulton - led 22-16 after the first quarter Friday night and went into halftime with a 34-23 advantage. Fulton carried a 46-35 edge into the fourth quarter.
Vaughn was one of three players to score in double figures for the Hornets. Junior guard Makygh Galbreath chipped in with 13 points and senior guard Jared Peery had 11.
Senior forward Justin Adams added nine points and nine rebounds for Fulton.
"I was worried we might be a little tired after playing the night before (a 55-43 NCMC loss at Kirksville on Thursday), but the guys came out with a ton of energy and intensity," Hornets head coach Justin Gilmore said. "We shot it well from deep and were patient, and got some good looks close to the rim as well.
"Defensively, our guys did a great job of limiting them to one shot and we were able to get a bunch of stops in a row to push the lead to double digits early."
Jai Lawson paced Mexico with 17 points and Cameron Holman finished with 14.
Fulton trailed Kirksville 17-7 after the first quarter Thursday night and faced a 25-16 deficit at the break. The Tigers outscored the Hornets 21-13 in the third quarter to stretch their lead to 46-29.
"We got down early and just could never get over the hump," Gilmore said. "We were down 20 in the fourth quarter and battled back to cut it (deficit) to five, with the ball. But they knocked down their free throws late and pulled away."
Galbreath directed the Hornets with a game-high 18 points, while Vaughn produced 11 points and nine rebounds. Kirksville outrebounded Fulton 35-25.
"We really got beat up on the boards for the first time in a while," Gilmore said. "We also had one of our poorer shooting nights of the year. We did not match their intensity to start the game and it came back to haunt us in the end."
Michael Chrisman guided Kirksville with 15 points, followed by Tanner Schilling with 13 and Lane Kephart with 12.
The Hornets are the No. 2 seed and have earned a first-round bye for this week's Class 4, District 8 Tournament at Liberty (Wentzville) High School. Fulton will play either No. 3 seed Warrenton or No. 6 St. Dominic in the semifinals at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.
"We've seen both teams play and whichever team wins Monday is going to give us a tough game," Gilmore said. "They've both played and competed with some really good teams this year."