No. 3 seed Pleasant Grove and No. 14 Mountain Ridge were locked in a tight battle midway through the fourth quarter of their 6A boys second round playoff game on Friday. In fact, the upstart Sentinels took a one-point lead with 5:14 to play. But the Vikings made 14 of 17 free throws (82%) in the final eight minutes, including 11 in a row to close out the upset bid in a 62-49 victory.

Pleasant Grove (18-6) will face the Skyridge-Copper Hills winner next Tuesday in a quarterfinal matchup at the University of Utah’s Huntsman Center.

“Our defense down the stretch was a big part of this win,” Vikings coach Randy McAllister said. “Then we rebounded and started making free throws. Props to our guys for stepping up at the line and making them.”

Pleasant Grove trailed 11-5 midway through the first quarter but led by 10, 32-22, on a 3-pointer by McCaden Adams late in the second. The Vikings led 32-25 at halftime but Mountain Ridge pulled to within one, 34-33, midway through the third quarter.

“We started off slow,” PG’s Isaac Garrett said. “They hit a couple of threes at the beginning and we just needed to tighten up. Coach got us all riled up at halftime by just telling us what we needed to do and motivating us to do it. He let us know what we’re capable of.”

A 3-point play by Jackson Moller at the 5:14 mark gave Mountain Ridge its first lead since early in the game at 44-43. Two key baskets highlighted the Vikings’ willingness to share the basketball to take back control. Adams fed Michael Minton on the break for a layup and moments later, Tanner Hanks whipped a pass to a cutting Minton for another basket and a 48-44 advantage with 4:15 remaining. Adams, Garrett Evan Anderson all made good on their trips to the foul line as Pleasant Grove pulled away for the win.

“I looked up and saw it was a 14-point lead and said, ‘How did that happen?'” PG coach Randy McAllister said. “It was so close for so long. They’re a good team. It’s tough when you play a team twice. When we played a team a second time in region, the teams were tougher. It was just a great high school basketball game.”

Pleasant Grove took a 10-point win from Mountain Ridge on December 14.

“Our guys knew we needed to do something special after being so tight in the game with this team,” Garrett said. “We just had to get it done.”

Garrett led the Vikings with with 19 points and Adams, who scored nine points including 8 of 9 from the foul line the fourth quarter, ended up with 18.

The Vikings lost a couple of key players before the season even started when point guard Jordan Ross left to play at a prep school and Dylan Jones transferred to Westlake.

Getting to the state quarterfinals under those circumstances feels pretty good.

“This group has really come together and accepted new roles because those were a couple of big holes to fill,” McAllister said. “Everybody down the line had to step up. Everyone has risen to the occasion this season and accepted the challenge. They just bonded and nobody out there thinks that they are the man. We’re just a very balanced team and they don’t care who gets the credit. They just want everyone to have success.”

Jake Fitton led Mountain Ridge (14-11) with 13 points.