Fulton boys use smothering defense in win at Amboy

AMBOY — Fulton boys basketball coach RJ Coffey says the Steamers are just scratching the surface of what they can be offensively.

That end of the floor was not the sharpest Friday night, but a smothering defensive effort and aggressive approach to the basket got the job done in a 46-32 Northwest Upstate Illini Conference win.

“Defensively, I thought we were really good,” Coffey said. “Offensively, we were rushed. We weren’t making good reads, good decisions. I don’t think we shared the ball very well, and that’s why we never really pulled away.

“Defensively, we were very good.”

Fulton’s defense helped force 15 Amboy turnovers in the first half and 20 in the game. The Steamers (10-10, 3-0) led 26-10 at halftime.

Jacob Voss scored a game-high 16 points in the win. Eddie Jones led the Clippers (7-11, 0-4) with eight points but was saddled with foul issues.

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Amboy's Eddie Jones (2) drives to the basket as Fulton's Caden Wilkin (12) follows during a Friday, Jan. 17, 2025 game at Amboy High School. (Earleen Hinton)

Amboy coach Tyson Powers said the team was just careless with the ball.

“They sped us up a little bit, and that’s something we’ve been working on, just make the easy play,” he said. “I think sometimes we get caught trying to make the hero play when it’s not there. We’ve just got to value the basketball better and take better care of it.”

Powers thought the team got rattled early and did not look ready to play.

“Coach Coffey does a really good job with them,” he said. “They schooled us tonight. They outcoached us and outplayed us, and that’s all it came down to.”

Voss was 8 of 9 at the free-throw line, and Fulton was 19 of 27 as a team.

Amboy outscored Fulton 22-20 in the second half, but the climb was too steep with foul trouble and just not enough shot-making.

Coffey thought his team’s zone defense played well, and the pressure helped cause Amboy issues.

“We’ve just got to get both ends working on the same night,” he said. “I think we can compete with just about anybody, we’ve just got to find some consistency where we defend well and shoot ball well and score the ball.”

Jacob Huisenga had nine points. Braeden Brennan was next on the Steamers with seven.

Coffey liked how the team attacked the basket, despite the inside shots not falling at times. It just comes down to being more consistent on offense.

“Right now, it’s kind of hit or miss. I think we have the potential,” he said. “We’ve got bigs inside that can score, we’ve got some guards that can hit some shots, that can get to the paint and attack. We’ve just to be able to put it all together multiple games in a row. I think there’s a lot of growth there still.”

For Amboy, the Clippers have four straight road games as they look for improvements.

“I don’t know if that’s necessarily a bad thing. You’ll sometimes get out of your gym, go play somewhere else, maybe be a little bit more focused, have the bus ride to kind of get us locked in. So hopefully that helps us out a little bit.”