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Pleasant Grove sophomore Brennan Blackett shoots a 3-pointer during the non-region game against Cedar Valley in Eagle Mountain on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.

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Pleasant Grove senior Zane Windsor goes up for a layup during the non-region game against Cedar Valley in Eagle Mountain on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.

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Cedar Valley senior James Milligan goes up for a layup during the non-region game against Pleasant Grove in Eagle Mountain on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.

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Pleasant Grove senior Hudson Guthrie goes up for a layup during the non-region game against Cedar Valley in Eagle Mountain on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.

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Cedar Valley senior Ryan Haslam goes up for a layup during the non-region game against Pleasant Grove in Eagle Mountain on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.

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Pleasant Grove junior Cooper Crockett shoots a 3-pointer during the non-region game against Cedar Valley in Eagle Mountain on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.

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Cedar Valley senior Obed Borruel goes up for a shot during the non-region game against Pleasant Grove in Eagle Mountain on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.

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Cedar Valley junior Carson Stocking drives to the basket during the non-region game against Pleasant Grove in Eagle Mountain on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.

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Cedar Valley senior James Milligan shoots a 3-pointer during the non-region game against Pleasant Grove in Eagle Mountain on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.

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Cedar Valley junior Decker Yeager drives into the lane during the non-region game against Pleasant Grove in Eagle Mountain on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.

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Pleasant Grove head coach Carsen Williams directs his team during the non-region game against Cedar Valley in Eagle Mountain on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.

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Cedar Valley head coach Blake Pugmire talks strategy with the assistant coaches during the non-region game against Pleasant Grove in Eagle Mountain on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.

❮ ❯

High school basketball coaches talk about how they get so caught up in the action on the court that they don’t pay attention to the scoreboard.

Pleasant Grove head coach Carsen Williams, however, admitted that he did notice that it was nice to finally play from in front.

His Vikings had been through a rough four-game losing streak where leads had been hard to come by, but Pleasant Grove finally flipped the script Tuesday night at Cedar Valley.

“It’s really the first time this year,” Williams said. “We’ve talked a lot about being hungry to get stops and then doing it longer than just one possession. We can’t get bored getting stops. If we do that, that will lead to our offense. I thought we did a lot better job of that tonight. We were really locked in on the defensive end.”

The Vikings used their ball movement and outside shooting to explode to a 19-3 lead to start the game against the Aviators, then never looked back on their way to the 66-45 victory.

“I thought we played great,” Pleasant Grove junior Jaxon Brown said. “We came out wanting to focus on the defensive end and we did that. We got a bunch of stops and that led to offense. We also really focused on finding the extra man today. In the first half I think we were just under 50% from 3-point range because we were kicking it out and finding the open shooter.”

The Vikings also did a good job not letting Cedar Valley put together a big run to get back in the game, an effort that was led by Pleasant Grove’s hustle on the boards.

“When you are searching for the right look, it allows you to get those offensive rebounds because we are balanced and where we want to be,” Williams said. “When we aren’t settling for bad shots, it allows us to attack and do better at getting rebounds.”

Williams believes his team is versatile enough that on any given night any of his guys could have a big game. On this night it was junior Jaxon Brown’s turn, as he drilled four 3-pointers on his way to 18 points.

“He was just doing what the game told him to do, just playing simple basketball,” Williams said. “He’s worked really hard to shoot the ball at a high level. He’s attacking closeouts and understanding that playing a simple game suits him really well. He was getting to space and his teammates were doing a really good job of setting him up.”

Brown agreed, however, that it felt easier to relax since the Vikings had that big cushion instead of trying to dig out of a hole.

“The last couple of games we have started out slow,” Brown said. “Today we wanted to punch them in the mouth first. It’s so much nicer to be playing from ahead. Losses are going to get us better but it feels so much nicer to get a win.”

Williams felt like that showing was an example of what this Pleasant Grove team can become this season.

“It reaffirms what we are trying to do,” Williams said. “I think moral victories only go so far, and we’ve had too many of those. I think seeing the fruits of what we can be, that we can be a good team, is huge. We’ll continue to build on that.”

Cedar Valley, on the other hand, is searching for that breakthrough moment as the Aviators have won just once in their first four games.

“We are going through some growing pains,” Ceder Valley head coach Blake Pugmire said. “We have just one returning starter so a lot of the kids are getting varsity experience now, and the speed of the game is a little different. We’ll keep working with them but they’ve got to go out and execute. We can’t give up as many offensive rebounds and we need to get out in transition more. That can help breed confidence, which is something we need to get back on track.”

The Aviators were led by junior Decker Yeager, who also hit four treys and finished with 18 points.

Pleasant Grove (2-4) now returns home to host Riverton on Thursday, while Cedar Valley (1-3) will welcome Desert Hills to Eagle Mountain on Friday.

Both games are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.