PG hot from the line

A Hawk free throw fest broke out on the hardwood.

Pleasant Grove connected on 13 of 19 charity shots in the fourth quarter and defeated North Lamar, 46-43, in a District 14-4A boys varsity game at Hawk Gym on Senior Night to clinch at least a share of the district championship.

In a game that featured two great defenses, Pleasant Grove (20-5, 7-2) was able to knock down 68 percent of their free throw shots during the fourth.

“Both teams played great defense, and the guys were focused,” Hawk head coach Billy Brewer said. “And we made more free throw shots than they did. I am blessed to have a good team like this. I have nine guys that can come off the bench anytime.”

The Panthers (11-16, 5-4) shot just 30 percent from the charity stripe.

Kameron Woods scored 11 points for the Hawks, while teammate Aaron Harmon had 10.

The Pleasant Grove defense stymied the Panthers in the fourth quarter, forcing them to shoot from the perimeter. North Lamar made three treys in the fourth to stay in the game.

The Hawks swarmed on the Panther offense and did not allow any easy shots.

After going up 21-19 at halftime, the game was tied at

27-all after the third quarter. The quarter was hotly contested on defense with the Panthers outscoring the Hawks, 8-6.

Pleasant Grove jumped on North Lamar from the start as the Hawks went on a 9-0 run. During the run, Benson hit a pair of charity shots, Woods hit a trey, Xavier Benson hit a 1-handed layup and Aaron Harmon drove in for a layup.

Later in the first quarter, North Lamar went on an 8-0 run, and the Hawks led by a point.

Aaron Harmon knocked down a shot from 3-point land to make it 14-10. Later, Griffin Young grabbed the rebound and went coast to coast for a layup.

The Panthers responded with a layup to make it 16-12. North Lamar’s Jake Walters hit a short jump shot, and the Panthers hit a 3-pointer to give them their first lead of the game, 17-16.

But Noah Fawbush swished in a trey, and a play later stole the ball and drove in for a layup to put the Hawks on top, 21-17.

Walters hit a layup for the Panthers just before the buzzer to inch North Lamar to within two points, 21-19, at the half.

The Hawks hit on 13 of 45 shots for a 28.8 field goal percent, while the Panthers hit 16 of 45 shots for 35.5 percent.

Freshman center Landon Jackson pulled down 10 rebounds for PG.

The Hawks and the Panthers each totaled 36 rebounds.

PG seniors Griffin Young, Aaron Harmon, Xavier Benson, Tevrin Jackson, Luke Bunel, June Heo and Luke Harmon were honored before the game.

Terrance Turner poured in 17 points, and Pleasant Grove won the junior varsity game, 61-49. Jared Glover and Tavondrick Henry each scored 10 points.