CALIFORNIA - The Fulton Hornets made a prominent defensive statement in quieting the Southern Boone Eagles.
Sophomore guard Walker Gohring sparked a balanced offensive attack with 10 points as No. 2 seed Fulton squeezed No. 3 Southern Boone 50-34 in the semifinals of the 87th-annual California Tournament on Thursday night.
The convincing victory allowed the Hornets (6-2) to avenge a 66-61 overtime loss at Southern Boone on Jan. 7. In the process, Fulton sliced the Eagles' output from the previous week almost in half Thursday night.
"The guys continue to amaze me with their defensive effort," Hornets head coach Justin Gilmore said. "Everything starts with their effort, and that hadn't been there the last couple of weeks. They brought it tonight and gave 100% every minute they were on the court.
"They were talking so well on defense, and that's one of the biggest reasons that a team is good on defense. They're doing that right now."
Fulton now moves on to face top-seeded Warrensburg in the title game at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Tigers advanced with a 64-48 victory over No. 4 seed Capital City in Thursday night's other semifinal.
"Like I told the guys after the game, they've earned every piece of this championship opportunity," Gilmore said.
Fulton led Southern Boone 18-12 after one quarter and took a 28-18 advantage into halftime. The Hornets were on top 39-23 going into the fourth quarter.
Sophomore forward Colby Lancaster and sophomore guard Donovan Weigel logged eight points apiece for Fulton.
"We spread it out and we seemed a lot more calm," Gilmore said. "Sometimes we get to going a little too fast, but we slowed down and ran a lot more of our sets.
"We were patient and got every shot we wanted. It paid off."
Blake Dapkus paced the Eagles (6-5) with a game-high 11 points.