Mexico boys swarm Fulton to win state-ranked showdown 56-45

By Jeremy Jacob, Sports Editor
Posted 1/7/23

Fulton has plenty of players to be concerned about.

The Mexico boys learned this in their first meeting this season, losing to their North Central Missouri Conference rival 69-52. The Bulldogs …

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Mexico boys swarm Fulton to win state-ranked showdown 56-45

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Fulton has plenty of players to be concerned about.

The Mexico boys learned this in their first meeting this season, losing to their North Central Missouri Conference rival 69-52. The Bulldogs didn’t allow the Hornets much room in the rebound 56-45 victory Tuesday night at home in a matchup between the Nos. 5 and 6 ranked teams in Class 4.

Head coach Darren Pappas said coach Dion Nunnelly and the team had a game plan for the Fulton team that was allowed to do what it wanted offensively in the Montgomery County tournament championship game. The key Hornets of Colby Lancaster and the Gohring brothers — Walker and Rowdy — had to work harder this time around.

“We doubled down on Lancaster and tried to limit him as much as possible,” Pappas said. “He’s a load so he’s going to still get his points. We contested their shooters — the Gohring brothers are really good ballplayers — and tried to limit other guys as well.”

Pappas said he likes how Mexico (8-3, 3-1 NCMC) rebounded the ball this time, limiting the big Lancaster to six rebounds and Walker Gohring and Donovan Weigel to five boards each. Gohring and Lancaster finished with 17 and 16 points, respectively, but the next highest scorer for the Hornets (8-2, 3-1 NCMC) was Dusty Hagens with five points.

Mexico, on the other hand, combined for 11 steals and had several score in double figures, including Jordan Shelton with a game-high 19 points along with two 3-pointers and two blocks. Anthony Shivers and DJ Long each followed with 11 points and five rebounds, Jaydon Eldridge had nine points, and Dante Kelley finished with four points and had four steals and two blocks.

Lancaster did eventually get his points in the second half but had four points through two quarters while Walker Gohring had eight points at halftime. Mexico made it uncomfortable for any Hornet that happened to be handling the ball and were especially focused on Fulton’s best ball handler in Gohring.

“I thought we did a good job of swarming when he did attack the basket and try to make it difficult because he does a really good job of finding the big when he does attack and the defense collapses,” Pappas said. “We did a really good job of getting our hands up, getting some deflections and then getting some steals.”

Pappas said the Bulldogs were at their best on the boards as that is the factor that helped Mexico open a consistent lead of around seven points, starting in the latter part of the second quarter.

“We did a good job of rebounding — trying to keep them off the glass and getting out in transition,” Pappas said.

Fulton did lead 17-14 after one quarter as the Hornets used an 8-2 lead on 3-pointers by Rowdy Gohring and Hagens and then Hagens came through with a steal and score.

The second quarter went to the Bulldogs after Shelton’s fury of scoring as he put in seven points in quick succession. He knocked down a 3-pointer before rushing down the floor for two circus layups off steals. Shelton finished with 11 points in the first half, and Long had nine points at the break.

“He did a good job of reading the defense and finding open guys, and I thought DJ did too,” Pappas said. “We need those guys to be at their absolute best. When they’re at their absolute best on both ends of the floor, we play our best.”

Following that, Mexico had a 21-18 lead with 5:46 left until halftime and then built an 11-1 run to take a 33-24 halftime lead, with the result of the Bulldogs’ latest game still fresh in their minds. Last week, Mexico led Blair Oaks 32-25 at the intermission prior to a 62-56 loss. All Fulton could muster in the second half Tuesday was 21 points.

Fulton did shrink Mexico’s lead down to as low as 38-34 with 3:34 left in the third quarter after Lancaster’s second dunk of three in the game.

“That was the message at halftime — we’ve been in this situation where we’re had a lead and let a team slip in,” Pappas said. “The first few possessions of the third quarter, we got kind of lackadaisical. We didn’t stick to our assignments on the defensive end, and they scored a couple quick buckets. That’s why we called a timeout to try to gather and regroup and then get them back out there. Can’t say enough about these guys and their focus in this ballgame.”

Pappas’ team responded soon after with a 49-38 lead at the end of the third quarter as Shelton and Eldridge hit shots from the perimeter and Kelley stood out on the defensive end, tallying his fourth steal before dishing an assist to Shivers in transition.

Kelley kept up the effort with two blocks in the fourth quarter, helping to prevent Fulton from scoring until a Walker Gohring 3-pointer almost halfway through the fourth quarter.

“That’s one thing — you’re never going to question Dante Kelley’s effort,” Pappas said. “He’s going to give you 100 percent effort. It doesn’t matter if he’s outweighed, outsized, outmatched, he’s going to give it everything’s he’s got. He was one of the glue guys for us tonight. When we needed a stop, he got a stop.”

Mexico faced Bowling Green (4-5) on the road Thursday before starting its stint in the Lindbergh Invitational Boys Tournament at 5:25 p.m. Monday against Class 6 Francis Howell North (4-5).


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