Top-seeded Fulton boys basketball cruised to a 70-39 victory against No. 8 seed Fayette in the opening round of the Harrisburg Varsity Tournament Tuesday evening at Harrisburg High School.
The Hornets led after all four quarters -- 28-12, 47-18, 64-32 and 70-39.
Leading Fulton offensively were the Gohring brothers -- Walker and Rowdy -- who each tallied 12 points with two 3s. The Hornets' Dusty Hagens chipped in eight points, including two 3s.
Jaron Cowans played his first varsity game for Fulton, scoring six points in the winning effort.
"It was a complete team effort tonight," Fulton coach Justin Gilmore said. "We were able to play all 12 of our guys, and everyone chipped in some shape or form (11-of-12 guys scored for Fulton).
"I thought our guys did a great job of supporting each other and communicating on the bench and on the floor. We've really been working on communicating, and the guys really did a great job focusing on that tonight.
"I also thought our guys did a great job consciously making efforts to boxing out on every shot. We've been struggling to rebound, so to see them really work on improving an area we've not been great at is a testament to this group's focus and work.
"Dusy Hagens knocked down a couple (of) 3s tonight, so it is great to see him get going a bit.
"Our bench guys got a little more run tonight, and I thought they really showed some good stuff. Jaron Cowans got to play his first varsity game tonight and chipped in with six points. Jaron has really been working hard on the junior varsity team. It's always nice to be able to reward kids that show and work hard every day."
With the win, the Hornets improve to 13-3 on the season, while the Falcons fall to 4-13.
No. 1 seed Fulton will take on tournament host, No. 4 seed Harrisburg (13-4) in the championship bracket at 6 p.m. Thursday at Harrisburg High School. In the other championship bracket game, No. 2 seed Blair Oaks (11-5) faces No. 3 seed Hallsville (13-2).