It was only fitting that the Fulton Hornets' seniors carried the load against the Mexico Bulldogs in their final game at Roger D. Davis Gymnasium on Friday night.
Fresh off Fulton securing its first North Central Missouri Conference title since 1990, seniors Makygh Galbreath, Cameron Vaughn and Nazir McClain combined for 65 points as the Hornets pulled away late for a 79-70 NCMC win over rival Mexico.
"I was super-proud of how we had to battle back. They deserve all the recognition they've gotten," Fulton head coach Justin Gillmore said. "We've got nine seniors and we're a senior-laden team.
"They lead us in practice and they led us (Friday night). They're a great group of kids and I couldn't have been prouder after this."
Energized by the standing-room only crowd and their rowdy student section, the Hornets (21-4, 11-1 NCMC) came out and played inspired in the first quarter. With Fulton in front by four points, Galbreath forced a steal and then eventually converted a reverse layup to put the Hornets up 11-5.
After the Bulldogs cut their deficit to 15-11, Fulton ended the quarter with six unanswered points as both Galbreath and Vaughn willed themselves to the basket.
Mexico would respond to the Hornets' hot start by switching to a 2-3 zone defense and relying on its length to keep Fulton's wings out of the paint.
Senior center J'Marquay McGruder - who missed most of the first half with foul trouble - also helped pull the Bulldogs back into the game. Back-to-back layups by McGruder trimmed the Hornets' double-digit advantage to 25-22.
With its path to the paint clogged up, Fulton turned to its outside shooting to re-establish a comfortable margin. First McClain buried a 3 from the corner, then Galbreath knocked down two treys as the Hornets' lead grew to 34-27.
Despite the strong stretch, Mexico was able to narrow the gap to 38-35 at the break. In the third quarter, the Bulldogs rode the hot hands of McGruder and senior forward Avion Williams to establish their first lead.
Williams and McGruder scored the team's first seven points of the period as Mexico went in front 42-40. With the Bulldogs still leading 48-45 late in the quarter, Galbreath buried another corner 3 to tie the game.
After another Mexico basket with just 6.3 seconds left, Galbreath drove the length of the floor before eventually finding senior forward LeCheyon Williams for a buzzer-beating layup as the two teams entered the fourth quarter locked at 50-all.
The last period would belong to Fulton, but more specifically Galbreath, who notched 14 of his game-high 32 points in the last 8 minutes.
McClain's second 3 of the game lifted the Hornets ahead 58-54, but the Bulldogs quickly responded to tie the game once again. Galbreath would convert another tough layup and Vaughn came through with a three-point as Fulton had its biggest lead since the first quarter at 63-58.
Back-to-back 3s from McClain and Galbreath gave the Hornets a 69-60 advantage with just over 3 minutes remaining.
Senior forward Tyler Spargo connected on a 3 from the left corner to pull Mexico within 71-65, but McClain punched in his fourth 3 of the night on the ensuing possession to finish off the Bulldogs.
Outside shooting has been an area of concern all season, but the Hornets were deadly accurate Friday night as they poured in eight 3-pointers. McClain was 4-of-5 from behind the arc and finished with 12 points.
"If we're hitting from deep like that, it makes us really dangerous," Gilmore said. "I thought Naz played great off the bench, he hit some big 3s for us.
"Mak found his groove and hit a couple, but I also think the game was won on the defensive end. We couldn't get stops early, but we were able to get a few in a row late to help build our lead."
The always-reliable Vaughn turned in 21 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, with 14 of his points coming in the first half.
Spargo led Mexico with 23 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Williams was instrumental with 14 points and McGruder notched 10 after dealing with early foul trouble.
Fulton is the No. 2 seed for this week's Class 4, District 8 Tournament in Hannibal. The Hornets earned a first-round bye and will face either No. 3 seed St. Dominic or No. 6 Mexico in the semifinals at 9 p.m. Tuesday.
"We're going to get some rest first. A lot of guys logged a lot of minutes (Friday night)," Gilmore said. "I'm sure they're tired, but we're mostly just going to do our stuff - focus on ourselves and just do what we do.
"We won't know who we play until Monday night, so we can't really prepare for anyone, but we're just going to work on our stuff and be who we are. That's what we've done all season and it's worked well for us."