No slowing down: Pleasant Grove boys basketball wins frantic track meet vs. Payson
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- Pleasant Grove defenders swarm Payson sophomore Joseph Wolfe during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove junior Carson Rasmussen dribbles toward the basket during the non-region game against Payson in Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove junior Ty Palmer shoots a 3-pointer during the non-region game against Payson in Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Payson junior Legend Reynoso gets fouled going to the basket during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Payson junior Legend Reynoso shoots a 3-pointer during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Payson junior Quinn Buys drives to the basket during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove sophomore Jaxon Brown shoots a 3-pointer during the non-region game against Payson in Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Payson junior Zandon Theobald goes up for a shot during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Payson senior Braxton Shirley dribbles up the court during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Payson senior Kamika Wesley goes up for a layup during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove senior Ryan Hadley looks to pass the ball during the non-region game against Payson in Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove junior Carson Rasmussen shoots a 3-pointer during the non-region game against Payson in Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove junior Ryker Mikkelsen dribbles up the court during the non-region game against Payson in Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove senior Makai Peterson looks to pass the ball during the non-region game against Payson in Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Payson junior Quinn Buys goes up for a shot during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove and Payson players battle for the ball during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove senior Makai Peterson blocks a shot during the non-region game against Payson in Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Payson senior Braxton Shirley shoots a 3-pointer during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove senior Ethan Hillyard (1) and Payson senior Kamika Wesley go up for the jump ball during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove head coach Randy McAllister directs his team during the non-region game against Payson in Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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- Payson head coach Anthony Mitchell directs his team during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
Frenetic. Relentless. Exhausting.
Those three words certainly described Wednesday night’s non-region boy basketball game at Pleasant Grove between the Vikings and Payson.
Even those watching from the stands likely left the gym feeling worn out after watching both teams sprint around the court at breakneck speed for 32 minutes.
Since both squads wanted to play the aggressive, high-speed style, victory came down to which team shot the ball better. Although Pleasant Grove wasn’t thrilled with how many shots didn’t go down, the Vikings still made 17 of the 50-plus 3-pointers they took and that was enough to get the 75-66 victory over the Lions.
“It felt like we missed so many but we still made 17,” Pleasant Grove head coach Randy McAllister said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can shoot and so we try to play to our strengths. Only shooting around 30% isn’t great but it was enough.”
The Vikings certainly started the game hot, making eight treys in the first quarter alone as they exploded to a 28-10 lead.
But then the shots stopped dropping as regularly and Payson settled in to play that style of game, getting to the basket and getting fouled.
Despite both teams having a lot of turnovers, the Lions trimmed the Pleasant Grove lead to just five points with a 13-0 stretch starting at the end of the second quarter and ending at the beginning of the third.
“It was up and down tonight,” McAllister said. “We had a great first quarter, then were terrible in the second quarter. But our defensive effort was 100%. I’ve been really pleased with the defensive effort they’ve given.”
After the home team answered — how else? — by knocking down four more bombs from downtown, Payson surged back to only trail 52-48 to start the fourth quarter.
But that would be as close as the visitors would get as the Vikings scored 15 of the next 21 points, including a couple of layups and a pair of foul shots.
Payson never quit and had a couple of chances to put a little more pressure on late, but Pleasant Grove made the defensive plays it needed to in order to secure the victory.
McAllister said he and his staff looked at his team and saw the potential to play a lot of players, attempt to wreak havoc on defense and shoot a lot of 3-pointers.
He said they’ve identified some key statistical categories where the Vikings need to excel to be successful.
“We’re focusing on turnovers we can create and turnovers we give up,” McAllister said. “We were really loose with the ball tonight and we can’t waste possessions like that. When you’re playing fast, I think the kids sometimes want to play fast so every decision they make has to be at turbo speed. They need to slow down at decision time. We’re still working on that but we’ll get there.”
Pleasant Grove also had 22 offensive rebounds, crashing the boards relentlessly on every shot attempt. McAlllister also said his team needs to avoid fouling.
“We don’t want to stop the game at all,” McAllister said. “We want to be going all the time. We fouled too much tonight, so we need to work on that as well.”
As a veteran coach who has tailored his game plans to his personnel for years, McAllister said he’s having a blast with the current approach the Vikings are employing.
“I think a lot of coaches think about doing this,” McAllister said. “It looked like it would be fun to play and fun to coach, but I never had the guts to try it — and I really never had the roster. But we have so little size but the kids can all shoot. It’s the perfect opportunity to do it. It’s a blast every day because it is a different style of coaching. It’s new and exciting for me and our coaches. It’s different but it’s exciting and I’m having a blast with it.”
Pleasant Grove (3-1) now will get two weeks off before playing in a tournament against Richmond Hill, Georgia, on Dec. 20 at 2:30 p.m. while Payson (1-3) hosts Spanish Fork on Friday at 7 p.m.
