MONTGOMERY CITY - Fulton senior forward John Adams finished with a game-high 13 points as the top-seeded Hornets opened their season by downing No. 8 Silex 63-34 in the first round of the Montgomery County Invitational on Tuesday night.
Fulton bolted to a 20-9 advantage after one quarter and was in front 26-17 at halftime. The Hornets pulled away by outscoring Silex 21-4 in the third quarter to open up a 47-21 lead.
Freshman guard Walker Gohring added nine points and junior guard AJ Henderson was next with eight as all 10 players scored for Fulton.
"We were a little sloppy early on, but we expected that," Hornets head coach Justin Gilmore said. "We played a whole lot of guys - we're just trying to get a feel for what kind of team we have.
"The guys answered the bell after halftime. We were buckling down on defense, and with our shot selection we were looking inside a little more. I thought we were really good in transition."
Brian Henke paced Silex with 12 points and Trey Mudd provided 11.
Fulton will face either No. 4 seed Bowling Green or No. 5 Clopton in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Thursday.