Boys' basketball: Eldon 79, Fulton 78

ELDON - The Hornets were victimized by a trio of double-figure scorers for the Mustangs - sparked by Elijah Rivera's game-high 30 points - in a narrow nonconference loss Thursday night.

Fulton (7-6) led 17-14 after one quarter and 34-28 at haltime. However, Eldon outscored the Hornets 25-19 in the third quarter to tie the game at 53-all.

The Mustangs then edged Fulton 26-25 in the fourth quarter to escape with the one-point victory.

"We were a little rusty coming off only practicing once over the last week due to the weather," Hornets head coach Justin Gilmore said. "It definitely showed defensively.

"We had a hard time containing Eldon and shutting down the lane. Give credit to Eldon's guys - they're a good team and they played a great game."

Senior guards AJ Reid and Anthony Paine produced 27 points apiece to guide Fulton, which shot 57 percent (26-of-46) as a team.

Reid finished 9-of-13 from the field - including 3-of-6 from 3-point range - and was 6-of-7 at the free-throw line. Paine made 9-of-14 shots - including 2-of-4 attempts from behind the arc - and hit 7-of-8 free throws.

Junior forward Tyler Sayler added 10 points for the Hornets.

"Offensively, we did a good job of getting the ball in positions to make us successful," Gilmore said. "Defensively, we've got some work to do to get back to the team we were before Christmas break."

Logan Hall supplied 17 points and Collin Tamm had 16 for the Mustangs, who shot 58 percent (30-of-52) from the field.

Fulton (6-5) rolled to a 69-42 win in the junior varsity contest. Sophomore Cameron Bennett tallied 17 points and sophomore Seth Sayler contributed 12.

The Hornets' scheduled game Saturday against Central (Cape Girardeau) in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Classic was postponed due to the weather forecast. The contest will be made up at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at Father Tolton in Columbia.

Fulton travels to Moberly for a North Central Missouri Conference game at 8 p.m. Friday.