McAllister drills career-high 6 treys in Pleasant Groves's win over Hillcrest

SALT LAKE CITY — Pleasant Grove senior forward Cory McAllister drilled a career-high six 3-pointers and tied his career-high in points with 27 in leading the Vikings to a 61-53 victory over Hillcrest in prep high school basketball action Friday night.

"Cory was definitely feeling it,” Pleasant Grove senior guard Cade Wilkes said. “He did a great job of aggressively attacking the basket. He also read the defense well to get open shots and he knocked them down.”

The game was tied 28-28 at the half before the Vikings held the Huskies to just six points in the third quarter to build an eight-point lead heading into the final stanza. Pleasant Grove increased its lead to as many as 13 points in the final quarter before the Huskies cut the lead to five with a late 11-3 run, but that was as close as they would get.

"The game was close at halftime (and) we got each other fired up in the locker room,” Pleasant Grove senior guard Taylor Allred said. “We came out pushing the ball and made a big focus on defense and held them to just six points in the third."

Pleasant Grove's starters combined for 59 of the Vikings' 61 points with the majority coming from McAllister (27), Wilkes (12) and Allred (10).

After a Hillcrest turnover early in the game, three different Viking players connected on consecutive 3-pointers to give Pleasant Grove the early lead. Despite the Vikings' hot start, Hillcrest weathered the storm and led 15-13 at the end of the first quarter.

"We started out the game really hot,” Wilkes said. “We got some open looks and we took advantage of them. However, our defense was weak and lacked energy so they were able to get a lot of easy baskets to give them the lead."

After tying the game at 28-28 at the half, the Vikings essentially put the contest away in the third quarter thanks to a 14-6 scoring run and stellar defense.

Austin Adams led the way for the Huskies with 17 points, while Bubba Pecht and Tanner Dastrup chipped in with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

The Vikings, who have won two straight games, will look to extend their winning streak during their toughest week of the season when they host American Fork on Wednesday and travel to Lone Peak on Friday. The Huskies hope to rebound from the loss when they visit Alta Wednesday night.