Freshman guard Courtland Simmons delivered 22 points to guide five players in double figures as the Hornets toppled the NCMC rival Bulldogs in Thursday night's regular-season finale at Roger D. Davis Gymnasium.
Fulton - which finished off a season sweep of Mexico - improved to 14-10 overall and 6-4 in the North Central Missouri Conference.
The Hornets were in front 22-19 after one quarter and outscored the Bulldogs 21-15 in the second quarter to extend their lead to 43-34 at halftime. Fulton owned a 54-49 edge going to the fourth quarter and outscored Mexico 35-28 over the final 8 minutes - hitting 14-of-17 free throws - to secure the victory.
Senior forward John Adams provided 17 points for the Hornets, while senior forward Tyler Sayler and freshman guard Josh Reams both tallied 14. Freshman guard Walker Gohring chipped in with 11 points.
"It was a great high school basketball game - great atmosphere and great energy from our fans and supporters," Fulton head coach Justin Gilmore said. "This is what high school basketball is all about. Our guys just went out and played - they didn't hold anything back or didn't play with any nerves, they just played."
Isaiah Reams sparked the Bulldogs with 22 points and Drew Blevins provided 15.
"I thought we were able to do a great job handling Mexico's pressure all night long," Gilmore said. "Mexico is a good team and they play extremely hard, and so for our guys to take care of (the ball) like we did, it shows how far we've come this year.
"We knew Mexico would challenge us for every rebound, but our guys really took pride in boxing out and winning the rebounding battle."
The Hornets are the second seed for this week's Class 4, District 8 Tournament in Mexico. Fulton - which is 9-3 over its last 12 games - received a bye in the quarterfinals and will face either No. 3 seed Mexico or No. 6 Moberly in the semifinals at 9 p.m. Tuesday.
"Our guys are playing their best basketball of the season right now," Gilmore said. "If we can tighten a few little things up in the next few days, I think we will have a good chance to compete with every team in a district that is filled with some good competition."