The Mexico boys' start on Tuesday night turned into a victory over North Central Missouri Conference foe Fulton while the girls' start turned into a defeat. In a home conference doubleheader, the Lady Bulldogs lost 36-33 after a 17-2 first quarter while the Class 4 No. 9 Bulldogs didn't look back with 85-49 victory after a 53-18 first half.
The Bulldogs (12-2, 4-0 NCMC) had 10 players score and used scoring from all-around to have their most productive half this season, according to head coach Darren Pappas. Mexico recorded its biggest victory against Fulton (2-7, 1-3 NCMC) since its 90-41 win in 2013.
"We were clicking on all cylinders," Pappas said. "Our perimeter shots were falling, we were moving the basketball and we were getting out in transition. We've had pretty good first halves, and we've just got to continue to build on that."
Jaydon Eldridge led Mexico with 20 points, three 3-pointers and two blocks, DJ Long followed with 17 points and seven assists, PJ Perkins had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Charlie Fisher and Aidan Knipfel led production off the bench with 13 points and nine points, respectively. Fisher had two 3-pointers and two steals, and Knipfel had seven rebounds. Rowdy Gohring led Fulton with 17 points.
The Lady Bulldogs (4-8, 2-2 NCMC) hadn't lost to Fulton (2-5, 2-2 NCMC) since 2015, snapping an 18-game winning streak against the Lady Hornets. Mexico followed a 17-point first quarter with 16 points the rest of the way as the offense didn't have the same confidence from the first quarter on Tuesday and from Mexico's first victory of 47-29 over Fulton this season in the Montgomery County tournament, according to head coach Makenzie Mudd.
"The problem was we were doubting ourselves," Mudd said. "We weren't as fast-paced as the last time we played them. We weren't making those cuts with as much intensity and were slowing ourselves down, which was causing us missed opportunities and then we'd get frustrated."
Claire Hudson led Mexico with 12 points and two 3-pointers, Grace Hudson followed with five points and three steals, and Hannah Loyd finished with six rebounds. Audrey Arnold led Fulton with 10 points and Deztani Galbreath-Chambers had nine points off the bench.
The Lady Bulldogs start a home doubleheader at 5 p.m. Thursday against Bowling Green (4-8) and then the Bulldogs follow against the Bobcats (4-7).
Look for the full stories on the Mexico Ledger website Thursday.
