RIVERTON — A renewed focus on the defensive end, brought about in part by a pointed challenge from Pleasant Grove coach Randy McAllister at halftime, helped lift his team over Region 4 foe Riverton 60-53 on the road Tuesday.
McAllister's challenge was issued after the Silverwolves finished the first half on a 7-2 run to build a 34-27 lead. The surge was topped off by a 3-point bucket from Riverton guard Joey Andrews that McAllister was none too happy about.
"That shot got them a bit more chewing than they'd normally get," McAllister said. "We weren't happy about that and a lot of other things, but the guys, well, they exceeded what I expected from them in the second half."
Pleasant Grove's second-half run didn't come in a flurry, but with lockdown defense that helped it chip away at Riverton's lead. Two free throws from Daniel Diehl to close out the third quarter gave the Vikings a 42-41 lead, a lead they'd maintain throughout the fourth quarter.
As expected, Riverton didn't go away quietly. The Silverwolves found themselves down just 54-53 with 1:10 remaining after another 3-pointer from Andrews, but those three points proved to be their last.
Meanwhile, the Vikings converted on all six free-throw attempts to come away with a big seven-point victory.
"This win was huge for us," McAllister said. "Every win in Region 4 is huge given the amazing parity we have in this region. Every year Region 4 has great teams and is always tough. But this year, I don't know if I've ever seen it like this. Every game is tough in this region."
Pleasant Grove was paced by Riley Court's game-high 22 points, but it was a complete team effort led by a tenacious defense that ultimately got it done, according to McAllister.
"I think we gave up just 19 points in the second half, which is phenomenal against a team like this," McAllister said. "They have some great offensive players, but our guys took the challenge and really played well tonight."
Tyler Bott and Diehl, who are both seniors, added 16 and 11 points for the Vikings, with Diehl being especially good down the stretch, converting on all four free-throw attempts in the game's final minute.
"Our seniors — we had a lot of experienced seniors step up tonight," McAllister said. "Of course we rely heavily on Riley, but tonight I think we showed a complete team effort that started on the defensive end."
Riverton was led by Andrews and Jaron Jones, who scored 21 and 19 points, respectively.
With the win Pleasant Grove improves to 3-1 in Region 4 and 13-2 overall. Next up for the Vikings is a home game against Lone Peak.
Riverton falls to 2-2 in region play and 10-5 overall and will next take on American Fork.
Email: bgurney@desnews.com
Twitter: @BrandonCGurney