ASHLAND - The No. 7 seed Fulton Hornets scored the game's first 11 points in routing the No. 4 Hallsville Indians 79-48 in Saturday's fifth-place game of the Southern Boone Classic.
Fulton (9-8) held a 19-10 advantage after one quarter and outscored Hallsville 17-11 in the second quarter to build a 36-21 halftime lead. The Hornets were in front 61-40 to open the fourth quarter.
Freshman guard Josh Reams connected for a game-high 16 points to lead four players in double figures for Fulton. Senior forward John Adams added 11 points, while senior forward Tyler Sayler and freshman guard Courtland Simmons each provided 10 points.
"We came out strong with a lot of energy," Fulton coach Justin Gilmore said. "It was a complete four-quarter effort from our guys. We were able to get contributions from every single player and I'm proud of the way the guys shared the ball with each other and played team defense.
"We're playing some good basketball right now and it all starts with our guys buying in to the team concept and doing everything together."
Jalen Gage topped Hallsville with 15 points and Clayton Cook had 14 points.
Fulton played Monday at School of the Osage. Results were not available at press time.
The Hornets return home for a North Central Missouri Conference matchup against Marshall at 6 p.m. today at Roger D. Davis Gymnasium. Fulton will be seeking to avenge a 53-45 loss to the Owls on Dec. 13 in Marshall.