WEST VALLEY CITY— The Pleasant Grove Vikings boys basketball team has been a poor free throw shooting team through its first eight games, shooting only 56 percent. On Monday, PG broke out of its slump, shooting 19-of-22 for 86 percent in a 57-51 win over Fremont at the E-Center in the 4A/5A Challenge.
"That's what I expect," PG coach Randy McAllister said. "There is no excuse. There is no reason I can think of for that. They're all seniors so confidence should not be lacking. Shooting free throws is such a mental thing anyways.
Once the confidence starts coming back we'll shoot 70 percent for the year."
That confidence is beginning to develop for the Vikings players.
"We've been practicing harder and concentrating a lot more," Vikings forward Cody Bilbro said. Nate Clement led Pleasant Grove with a game high 23 points. Landon Hallman scored 13 while Bilbro added 10 in the Vikings win.
"This is just a good win for our program to beat a quality program like that," McAllister said. "If we hold teams to around 50 we are very pleased with that."
After leading for most of the game Pleasant Grove fell behind 45-40 with 5:47 left in the game following a 3-pointer by Eric VanWoerkom.
PG rallied to tie the game at 51 following two free throws by Clement with 2:11 left in the game. In the final two minutes the Silver Wolves turned the ball over three times and missed three free throws.
The Vikings took advantage of the Fremont miscues by scoring the final six points of the game. PG took the lead at 53-51 when Bilbro hit his only two free throws of the night with 32.7 seconds left. Following a Fremont turnover Hallman hit a lay up with 13 seconds left to give PG a 55-51 lead.
With 7.4 seconds left, Ryan Sanchez was fouled shooting a 3-pointer but he missed all three free throws, sealing the Vikings win.
All evening PG had great success in scoring in the post and cutting to the basket off screens. A bulk of Clement's and Bilbro's points came from running off screens.
"They were overplaying us and that's where a lot of our points came, from cutbacks," Bilbro said.
McAllister added that he was pleased with his teams shot selection. The Vikings missed all four of its 3-point attempts but did shoot 50 percent (19-of-38) from the field.
"We got the ball inside more which I think was the difference," McAllister said. "We told the kids that shooting in these big arenas is a lot different then shooting in a gym."
Trevor Higley led Fremont with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Fremont shot 73 percent in the second half and 51 for the game.
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COTTONWOOD 65, BONNEVILLE 41: Three different Colts scored in double figures as Cottonwood cruised past the Lakers for a win at the Pro-Look Challenge. Andre Carter led the way with17 points, while Cody Holfeltz and Martin Mitchell combined for 21 points.
NORTHRIDGE 74, LOGAN 68:Tage Clifford and Jordan Burrell scored 18 and points respectively, while Rustin Miller and Cam Pribble also scored in double figures as the Knights held off the Grizzlies at the Pro-Look Challenge. Brok Nelson led Logan with 16 points in the loss.
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WOODS CROSS 48, VIEWMONT 46: The Wildcats overcame a six-point deficit in the final two minutes to edge the Vikings in the Pro-Look Challenge. Ross Zumpano led Woods Cross with 13 points while Viewmont's Sol Jensen led all scorers with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
DAVIS 41, PAYSON 40: The Darts jumped out to a seven-point first quarter lead and then held off Payson's rally attempt — which included a game-winning shot attempt at the buzzer. Davis' Tyson Brown led all scorers with 21 points.
OLYMPUS 65, TAYLORSVILLE 48: The Titans buried 11 3-pointers, and used a 16-0 spurt to start the second half to cruise to a victory past the Warriors. Chris Marsh led Olympus with 18 points and Shaun Green added 16. Taylorsville's Willie Pratt scored 15 in the loss.
EAST ANCHORAGE 62, TIMPANOGOS 50: Timpanogos blew an early lead and lost to a tough East Anchorage team in National Holiday Prep Classic in San Diego.
TIMPVIEW 43, ST. PATRICK, N.J. 42:Matt Pinegar hit a free-throw with two seconds left in the game to put Timpview ahead for good in a win over St. Patrick, N.J., at the Slam Dunk at the Beach tournament in Delaware.
PALISADES, CA 50, JUAN DIEGO 43: Chad Vaculin scored 20 points for Juan Diego in a loss to Palisades High (Calif.) in the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic.