WARRENTON - Fulton sophomore guard Walker Gohring supplied 17 points to spark three players in double figures as the Hornets opened their season with a decisive 77-53 win over the Warrenton Warriors on Tuesday night.
Sophomore guard Courtland Simmons followed with 16 points for Fulton and freshman center Javar Galbreath added 11.
"I thought we played extremely hard with a lot of constant energy. One through eight (on the roster), we received contributions from everyone," said head coach Justin Gilmore, who is entering his sixth season with the Hornets. "I thought our transition offense was pretty good with a lot of layups, but that all started on the defensive end.
"It's a collective unit - they're always talking and switching, and we hardly ever find ourselves lost. I also thought we rebounded pretty well."
Fulton jumped out to an early 6-2 edge and after Warrenton made it a one-point game, the Hornets used a 10-3 run to establish a 16-8 lead after one quarter. Fulton twice led by 17 points in the second quarter, before the Warriors closed the first half with an 8-0 run to pull within 31-22 at the break.
The Hornets produced the first six points of the third quarter, but Warrenton countered with six unanswered points to make it 37-28. Fulton, though, built a comfortable double-digit lead again behind a 12-4 run, opening up a 49-32 advantage.
The Warriors continued to hang around, finishing the quarter with seven unanswered points in narrowing the gap to 49-39.
The Hornets then started to pull away at the outset of the fourth quarter, responding with an 11-2 run to go up 60-41.
Andrew Cox paced Warrenton with a game-high 18 points and Kolby Meine contributed 10.
Fulton prevailed in the junior varsity contest 50-48 on sophomore guard Tyreion Logan's game-winning basket with 3 seconds to play. Logan ended up with 12 points and freshman guard Rowdy Gohring topped the Hornets with 20.
Fulton is the No. 1 seed for next week's Montgomery County Invitational. The Hornets face No. 8 seed Wellsville in the first round at 5:30 p.m. next Tuesday, Dec. 1, in the middle school gym.
"It's a great tournament to start the year off and we're lucky to be involved in it," Gilmore said. "It's a tough tournament to win, but if the guys decide to come out the way we've been practicing and the way we played tonight, we have a decent shot."