COLUMBIA - State-ranked Central (Cape Girardeau) outscored Fulton 47-23 in the second half to power the Tigers to an 86-49 romp over the Hornets in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Classic at Father Tolton on Saturday.
Fulton has lost seven of its last nine in falling to 8-10 on the season. The Hornets trailed 22-12 after one quarter Saturday and 39-26 at halftime, but Central - ranked third in Class 4 - took control by outscoring Fulton 22-13 in the third quarter to open up a 61-39 advantage.
The Tigers turned the game into a rout by outscoring the Hornets 25-10 in the fourth quarter.
Junior forward Tyler Sayler finished 7-of-12 from the field in supplying a game-high 16 points to pace Fulton, which shot 45 percent (19-of-42) as a team. Senior guard Anthony Paine - who made 5-of-9 shots - added 15 points.
"(Saturday) was a tough one," Hornets head coach Justin Gilmore said. "I thought our guys really hung in there and battled until the very end. I was impressed with our composure in the first half and we stayed close with them until midway through the third (quarter).
"Cape Central is a very good team and it was good for our guys to see what it's like to play a state-ranked Class 4 school."
Kinyon Hodges provided 14 points to direct four players in double figures for the Tigers (19-3), who shot 59 percent (35-of-59) from the field. Chauncey Hughes chipped in with 13 points, Doreante Turner finished with 12 and DaShawn Franklin had 10.
"If we want to be successful at the end of the year, we'll need to compete with teams of Cape's caliber," Gilmore said. "I want to give a special shout-out to the Missouri Hall of Fame Classic for giving us the opportunity to play in the shootout.
"It was a great environment for our group to play in."
Fulton's scheduled North Central Missouri Conference home game against Kirksville on Monday night was postponed for the second time in three days due to the weather. The girls-boys' varsity doubleheader will be made up at 6 p.m. Saturday at Roger D. Davis Gymnasium.