Sunday, March 5, 2006
By KATE HAIROPOULOS / DMN

PLANO -
What he did: Fulce scored 26 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in Plano's 60-45 victory over El Paso Montwood in Saturday's Class 5A Region I final. Fulce outrebounded the entire Montwood team, 15-14. Plano advances to play Richardson Berkner in the state semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Austin's Erwin Center. Fulce also scored 19 points in Friday's 67-50 win against Odessa in a regional semifinal.

Joseph Fulce The stats: Fulce averaged 15 points and 9.2 rebounds during the regular season.

Who is he? Fulce, a 6-8, 197-pound wing, has signed with Texas A&M.

He said it: "I just really wanted to go to state. Everybody kept saying that in order to go we had to rebound. I just did what I do best."

Coach said it: "He was just an absolute monster. The greatest game he ever played was at the time we needed it most." – Tom Inman

Did you know? Plano's last trip to the state tournament was in 1980. Fulce was born in 1987. Two of his cousins played on the 1980 team. Another of Fulce's cousins is former Plano East star Jimmy King. ...Inman said he could tell Fulce was ready for a dominant game Saturday by the focused look in his eyes. ... Fulce missed 10 games in the middle of the season after undergoing knee surgery. "With me coming back, I had to push it to the next level," he said. "I'm really amped, but it's still not enough for me."