Mexico’s Raef Yager (25) puts up a hook shot over Fulton’s John Adams (34) during a Class 4 District 8 semifinal game Tuesday night in Mexico. [David Pickering/For the Ledger]

Mexico boys basketball could not have started off the fourth quarter any better.

Trailing Fulton by four in the semifinals of the Class 4 District 8 Tournament, the Bulldogs forced a turnover and Keyon Mahaney converted the layup to swing the momentum back to the Bulldogs.

But just as they had all night, the Hornets kept their composure and continued to execute, dominating on the boards and handling Mexico’s pressure.

Most importantly, they found a bucket every time they needed one.

Fulton held off Mexico 73-67 on Tuesday to complete a season sweep of the Bulldogs, advancing to Thursday’s district final against Kirksville.

The Hornets (15-10) were led by freshman Courtland Simmons with 22 points. Simmons recorded several transition buckets to keep Fulton in front. It was a memorable performance in a memorable rivalry, one that has been played out three times this season.

“We say all the time, Mexico versus Fulton is one of the best high school environments around,” Fulton head coach Justin Gilmore said. “When you’ve got both teams playing a super high level, it even amplifies it.”

The atmosphere, a large crowd with two spirited student sections, was fitting for both teams to do battle in.

“The crowd was great,” Gilmore said. “Both teams were great. It was just an all-around great high school basketball game.”

It didn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has seen these teams during the season that such an exciting game broke out. Both teams gained only got better as the winter progressed. Fulton lost just twice in all of February; Mexico just once.

That one Bulldog loss? To Fulton, last week on the road.

In front of its home crowd with the season on the line, Mexico looked to avenge both regular-season losses. Led by 22 points from Isaiah Reams and 15 points from Drew Blevins, Mexico kept pace with a Hornets squad that was rebounding well on the offensive and defensive glass.

While Simmons was causing all sorts of problems off the drive, 6-foot-4 Tyler Sayler was wreaking havoc down low. Sayler converted multiple putbacks after grabbing offensive rebounds to help his team.

“We’re a group of brothers, every day in practice,” Sayler said. “This is probably one of the closest basketball teams I’ve ever been a part of.”

Mexico (14-12) would get as close as 63-60 after two free throws from Reams with just under four minutes left, but Fulton took control for the final time, going on a crushing 8-0 run punctuated by a dagger 3-pointer from freshman Walker Gohring with 2:52 left. The traveling Fulton fans could begin to sense the tide had turned for good.

The Bulldogs hoisted shot after shot but could not get anything to go down. The Hornets grabbed each defensive rebound with impressive efficiency.

The hard work on the boards is what led to many second-chance points, and Mexico head coach Darren Pappas acknowledged that those rebounds were eventually what did his team in Tuesday night.

“We knew it was going to be a tough contest going in,” Pappas said. “We just couldn’t sustain their runs and get enough stops. I really thought they hurt us on the boards on both ends. They did a really good job of rebounding and getting second and third opportunities.”

nav-oc Naviga Writer 2020-03-10T13:34:15Z false yes SPORTS By Matthew Antonic The Mexico Ledger