WEST VALLEY CITY — Throughout his career C.J. Wilcox has been regarded as a great player but someone who can't win the big game.

Not anymore.

The Pleasant Grove senior was simply unstoppable in the opening round of the 5A state tournament at the E Center Monday, scoring 30 points and leading the Vikings to a convincing 59-48 victory over a very good Skyline team.

The victory put a halt to Pleasant Grove's reputation as being playoff chokers, having lost in the first round in each of the past three years.

"I'm just glad for the kids, that's not going to be something they're going to have to hear anymore," said Pleasant Grove coach Randy McAllister.

The key was getting out to a good start, and Wilcox was the catalyst, scoring 16 of his 30 points in the first half as the Vikings jumped out to a 29-15 halftime lead.

"I've seen them take the air out of the ball plenty of times. Especially in second half, if you get down to them they start milking their possessions and it's a nightmare to climb back uphill," said McAllister. "Our plan was to get out early and keep the pace of the game in our favor."

Pleasant Grove took several steps to make sure things unfolded that way. The players adhered to a self-imposed curfew the past few days to ensure the 9:30 a.m. start time wouldn't be an issue. They also arrived at the E Center plenty early Monday to get acclimated to the shooting conditions. Lastly, they made a commitment to play solid defense against a Skyline offense that has a way of wearing teams out.

"I think it started with defense, we tried to come and get three or four stops in a row," said Wilcox.

Those stops came early in the second quarter as Pleasant Grove opened the quarter on an 11-3 run to pull ahead 24-11. Wilcox scored eight points during the stretch, showing off the many facets of his offensive game.

"He's just so efficient. When he tries to score every way he's unstoppable," said McAllister. "When he tries to be a 3-point shooter you can guard that. But tonight he attacked."

Wilcox finished the game 9 of 20 from the field, 2 of 4 from 3-point range and 10 of 11 from the free throw line.

Pleasant Grove opened up a 33-17 lead on a Wilcox jumper early in the third quarter, but not surprisingly a Skyline team that won 18 games this year wasn't going to go quietly.

Led by Davey Weixler, Ryan Osterloh and Kevin Wagstaff, all of whom scored in double digits, the Eagles clawed to within 41-31 by the end of the third quarter. They quickly opened the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run and had several 3-pointer attempts that could've trimmed Pleasant Grove's lead to 41-39.

They missed both shots, and Pleasant Grove responded with a 13-2 run to put the game away for good.

"We started the year with a bunch of football guys; we just weren't very good. We couldn't move our feet, couldn't shoot, couldn't dribble very well. So we lost to good teams early in the year," said McAllister. "Right about the Alta game, the last game before region, we kind of clicked."

Since then, the only team Pleasant Grove has lost to is No. 1 Lone Peak.

In addition to Wilcox's dominance, his cousin LeSean Wilcox chipped in with 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

Pleasant Grove advances to Wednesday's quarterfinal at 7:15 p.m. and will face either Davis or Copper Hills.

E-mail: jedward@desnews.com