Common sense dictates that whenever one thing isn't working, the logical thing to do is try something else.

The difference was that the Knights excelled by going inside and getting out in transition, whereas the Vikings couldn't find anything to get themselves going and fell further and further behind.

Lone Peak built a big lead in the second quarter and cruised to the 78-44 win, clinching at least a tie for the Region 4 crown.

"This builds confidence for us but now it's my job to make sure they know it's just a win," said Knight head coach Quincy Lewis. "It did give us the region title, which is nice.

"I think what happened was they missed some shots early and it snowballed on them. They got down and when you miss those long shots, it allows the other team to start the fast break."

A pair of early Lone Peak transition opportunities resulted in Pleasant Grove junior point guard LeSean Wilcox picking up two quick fouls and being forced to the bench. Viking head coach Randy McAllister said he doubted it had any impact on the final result, but it did change the makeup of the game.

"It changes who we are (to have him out)," McAllister said. "He's our 30-minutes-per-game point guard and though others can do that, we haven't practiced with them very much. But I don't think it really mattered in what happened."

After a low-scoring first quarter (the home team led 10-6), the Knights took control early in the second period by going on a 19-4 run.

"The game was over," McAllister said. "We had such a frustrating start. We didn't do any of the things we talked about doing. We were too anxious to take shots, too anxious to make plays and you can't do that against 6-foot-11 guys. When you're down 20 to this team, it's almost impossible to come back. You have to hang around and make plays at the end."

Lone Peak came out of the locker room with a 19-point advantage and quickly put to rest any hopes of a big Pleasant Grove comeback by scoring 10 of the first 12 points in the frame.

"We were able to get a lot of good looks out of the gates," Lewis said. "We executed the offense and got the ball where we needed it to be."

The Vikings made one final rally late in the third quarter behind the smooth shooting of junior forward C.J. Wilcox -- who led all scorers with 27 points, including five 3-pointers -- and managed to get the lead down to 46-30.

The Knights responded with another run -- this time an 11-0 spurt -- to put the game definitively out of reach. Junior guard Tyler Haws led the way for the home team with 24 points and seven assists, while teammate senior forward Bracken Funk set a school record with 18 rebounds.

Though McAllister didn't have much to be pleased with in the defeat, he said he liked how his kids competed until the end.

"We you get blown out and it gets humiliating, some teams start doing cheap things," he explained. "I thought the boys played with class and dignity, which is one of the reasons I love coaching at Pleasant Grove High School."

Lewis said that the 34-point win was surprising and he doesn't believe it would happen again if the two teams met in the state playoffs.

"I think Pleasant Grove is one of the top two or three teams in the state," he said. "If we faced them 10 more times, it wouldn't be like this the next 10."

The Vikings will try to regroup when they play at American Fork next Wednesday, while Lone Peak plays at Lehi the same evening. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

• Jared Lloyd can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

PLEASANT GROVE (44)

C. Wilcox 27, L. Wilcox 8, Nielson 6, Tucker 3. Totals 18 2-4 44.

LONE PEAK (78)

Haws 24, Sharp 18, Hamilton 12, Funk 10, Payne 3, Austin 3, Hale 3, Reeves 3, Smith 2. Totals 32 10-17 78.

Pleasant Grove 6 9 15 14 -- 44

Lone Peak 10 24 17 27 -- 78

3-point goals: Pleasant Grove 6 (C. Wilcox 5, Tucker); Lone Peak 4 (Payne, Sharp, Austin, Reeves).