It wasn’t a shock that the Mexico and Fulton boys were tied going into Thursday’s fourth quarter.

These longtime rivals were tied at 30 and then 43 after four quarters in Mexico’s 56-49 overtime win in January and then the Bulldogs trailed 42-40 after three quarters of February’s 63-55 loss. After the Class 4 District 8 semifinal game in Fulton was tied at 35 heading into the fourth quarter, Mexico outscored Fulton 19-6 in the fourth to win 54-41 to advance to Saturday’s 2 p.m. district championship game.

Mexico vs Fulton Photo Gallery

“We always knew we had the edge on them,” senior Kaden Benne said. “We were being sloppy and not getting rebounds. In that fourth quarter, it finally clicked as everybody was flying around, getting rebounds, shots were falling and we played great defense in that fourth quarter.”

Fulton (11-17) defeated Kirksville 57-45 one week after losing 61-36 to the Tigers to set up a third meeting with Mexico (20-7). The Bulldogs defense played its best quarter, head coach Darren Pappas said, which led to those transition buckets. 

Pappas said Mexico closed the door in the fourth quarter while excelling in the usual areas. Up until that point, the Bulldogs needed to figure out Fulton’s defense in the half court and did by taking a lead in the third quarter after being ahead once in the first half. 

“We set good screens on guys, and Charlie (Fisher) was able to get downhill and dictate,” Pappas said. “When a big switched on him, he was able to attack them off the dribble. We had guys crashing the basket from the back side, and we were able to dump it to them at times also.”

Benne finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, Charlie Fisher had 13 points and five assists, Brady Thoenen followed with nine points and 10 rebounds, and James Matthews added nine points. 

Mexico went 13-for-21 from the free throw line and was 7-for-11 from the line in the fourth quarter. Benne shot 6-for-9 on free throws and hit 5-for-7 in the fourth quarter. 

“I’m definitely happy those were able to fall,” Benne said. “I would have liked to be 7-for-7 (in the fourth), of course.”

Pappas said Mexico wanted to put pressure on the paint so attempting 21 free throws was a good result. Attacking also helped when Benne earned an and-one opportunity to put Mexico ahead 50-40. 

“The and-one was big, and being able to hit 7-of-11 free throws in the fourth quarter was huge,” Pappas said. “I can’t say enough about this group. They wanted it, and we get to practice another day.”

Thomas Pittman led Fulton with 18 points and three 3-pointers, and Paul Bruner had 13 points. They accounted for all six of Fulton’s fourth quarter points but each had one field goal for their quietest quarter of the night.

Benne and Fisher combined for 13 points through three quarters for Mexico. The Bulldogs showed some balance, Pappas said, as Matthews and Thoenen each chipped in with scoring. Thoenen had a busy night on the boards and often found the right pass in the open court.

“He’s a big that can handle the ball and take the ball in transition if we need him to,” Pappas said. “He does a really good job when he is attacking the rim and not just settling for threes.”

Pappas said Mexico has a tough test with Hallsville (20-8), who defeated Moberly 57-52 on Thursday and who hasn’t seen the Bulldogs since losing 82-61 in last year’s district championship game. This is Mexico’s third straight season playing for a district title in its third consecutive 20-win campaign.

Mexico needs to focus if it wants to three-peat as district champion, Pappas said, but the team wouldn’t be there without dedication.

“That is senior leadership — Kaden, Charlie, Kinser (Groves) and Kelvin Watson,” Pappas said. “We’re fortunate enough to coach some really good kids that believe in our system, offensively and defensively.”