Fulton ends four-game skid with win at S-D

By Steve Williams

Fulton got back to playing "Fulton basketball" a little better last Thursday night.

Coming off a rare four-game losing streak, the Falcons enjoyed an 80-51 win at South-Doyle.

"I think we played harder tonight," said veteran coach Jody Wright. "We've been struggling with that (as far as) consistent energy, consistent effort.

"We just weren't playing like Fulton. We weren't defending like Fulton. We weren't playing with the same intensity and same effort and energy that you got to have to play basketball at a high level."

Fulton, a perennial state power, got off to a 12-0 start this season but ran into some tough opposition during the holidays.

"We lost to A.C. Reynolds at the Coliseum and then we lost two games at the Arby's," said Wright.

"We played some extraordinary good basketball teams and hopefully it showed us some areas we have to grown in, so I think there was a little more energy tonight and that was evident in how we played and made some shots. Again, we've got to clean some stuff up. But we played hard."

A 71-65 loss to William Blount last Tuesday extended the losing skid to four straight.

"Tonight wasn't our best effort, but it was a step in the right direction," said Wright. "I'm proud of how hard we played.

"There are certain things you expect to see when you see Fulton play and we haven't been meeting the standard. We did a better job tonight of meeting the standard."

Fulton took a 22-13 lead in the opening eight minutes and were ahead 37-23 at halftime. The Falcons continued to increase their margin and it was 56-37 early in the third period and 60-40 with six minutes left in the game.

Reserves got in some playing time before the final buzzer.

Fulton had a balanced scoring attack. Dexter Lewis had 15 points and Marcellus Jackson 14. Taj Kimber followed with 12 points, Denaj Kimber 11 and Tyler Lee 10.

The Cherokees were led by Tai Cates (21 points) and Nate Thompson (10).

"I thought we had a lot of guys that impacted the game – not necessarily scorebook-wise – and that's what you got to have," added Coach Wright. "There's going to be nights you don't score a lot and I was pleased with the guys that changed the game with other facets besides scoring and that's what good teams do."

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