Locked in: Pleasant Grove boys move on to 5A quarterfinals
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- Pleasant Grove’s Oliver Mosman (facing) and Jaxon Brown celebrate an upset win against Orem in a 5A boys basketball state playoff game on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Jaxon Brown (4) calls a play against Orem in a 5A boys basketball state playoff game on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.
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- Orem’s Aisa Galea’i (55) makes an entry pass against Pleasant Grove in a 5A boys basketball state playoff game on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.
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- Players on the Pleasant Grove bench react during a 5A boys basketball state playoff game against Orem on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.
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- Orem’s Troy Kaufusi (1) drives to the basket against Pleasant Grove in a 5A boys basketball state playoff game on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.
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- Three Pleasant Grove players surround Orem’s Troy Kaufusi in a 5A boys basketball state playoff game on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.
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- Orem boys basketball coach Jace Tavita watches the action during a 5A state playoff game against Pleasant Grove on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.
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- Orem’s Simeon Suguturaga (12) makes a move to the basket against Pleasant Grove in a 5A boys basketball state playoff game on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.
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- Orem’s Aisa Galea’i (55) reacts during a 5A boys basketball state playoff game against Pleasant Grove on Friday, Feb, 20, 2026.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Kyler Jense (on floor) and Milo Johannson react during a 5A boys basketball state playoff game against Orem on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.
In the frenzied moments that followed No. 12 Pleasant Grove’s stunning 5A second round upset of No. 5 Orem on the Tigers home court Friday, a dozen Vikings students snuck into the visiting locker room to join in the celebration.
They were eventually shooed out by school officials but PG head coach Carsen Williams reminded them to join the team on Monday for the quarterfinals up at the Huntsman Center.
The Vikings haven’t been to the state quarterfinals since 2022.
“I’ve been here four years and this is the first year we’ve won a playoff game, right?” said senior Jaxon Brown, who led PG with 20 points. “To make it to the U, it’s been a goal of mine since I was kid.”
As Williams and his players accepted congratulations from PG fans for the narrow 55-54 victory, a buzz swept through Tigers Fieldhouse: No. 1 seed Timpview had lost in a shocker to 17 seed Alta.
The 5A tournament is now officially wide open. After Pleasant Grove’s performance in taking down Orem, the Vikings have to be among the contenders to come out of their side of the bracket into the finals.
“I think we’ve proven that we’re one of the top teams in 5A, that we’re capable of playing with anybody, and we’re a 12 seed, right?” Williams said. “We could have felt sorry for ourselves but in the last two weeks, these guys have been so locked in, so focused on each other. It’s just been such a privilege to see and be a part of, and I’m just so proud of them and so grateful to them.”
Pleasant Grove led by as many as 17 points in the second half but the Tigers started pressing and making threes, roaring back to withing two (53-51) with 34 seconds remaining on two free throws from Troy Kaufusi.
The final 30 seconds were chaos with huge defensive plays to keep hope alive on both sides. Orem took the ball with 17 seconds left but Cooper Harris missed a corner three and PG’s Milo Johannson came up with the big defensive rebound, drawing a foul. With 5.4 seconds to play, Johannson coolly dropped in a pair of free throws for a 55-51 lead. Orem’s Aisa Galea’i knocked down a 3-pointer — his fifth of the game — as time expired and the Vikings had their upset.
Pleasant Grove played what Williams called the “best defensive half of the season” in easing to a 15-point lead. PG led 11-5 after one and a 7-0 run, with five points from Brown, gave the visitors a 22-7 lead with 2:34 to play in the second quarter. Brown drove and scored to beat the buzzer and the Vikings took a 31-16 advantage at halftime.
“Orem is such a great team,” Williams said. “I feel like I’ve got an incredible coaching staff and we had a great plan coming in, things that we hadn’t done in our two previous games against them. We kind of caught them off guard. Were able to jump them early, but we knew they were going to make a run. I mean, there’s four high major Division I athletes on that team, football and basketball guys, that are winners.”
Brown powered his way to a basket to start the second half and PG led by 17, 33-16. Orem began to find their range from the 3-point line and gradually closed the gap. Kaufusi made a 4-point play and a Galea’i triple got the Tigers to within eight, 37-29, with 3:40 to go in the third quarter. A 3-point play by Brown kept the Vikings in front by eight, 43-35, entering the final frame.
Pleasant Grove still led by nine with 2:07 to play but a 7-0 run by Orem set up the final moments.
“We’ve had our ups and downs,” Williams said. “We’ve had more illness than any high school basketball team I’ve ever been a part of. One thing we’ve talked about a lot — it’s kind of our core culture — is called “Mudita,” which essentially just means finding joy in the success of your teammates, finding joy in others. These guys, they’re such good friends and they care about the right things. They’re so bought into winning. When we do that, I think the product speaks for itself.”
Oliver Mossman scored 15 points and Brennan Blackett added 11 for the Vikings. Galea’i hit all five of his 3-pointers in the second half and had 20 points for Orem. Kaufusi finished with 18.
Pleasant Grove (14-11) will play Region 7 foe Wasatch in one of Monday’s quarterfinals at the Huntsman Center. The Wasps battled to a 47-41 victory against Salem Hills in the second round. Wasatch won the only regular-season meeting with PG 61-59 in Heber on Jan. 16.
“We play for each other,” Brown said. “We know how good we are, and we’re just going to keep proving that to everyone else who doesn’t believe in us, and just stay as one.”
