Utah Flash 104, Idaho Stampede 98; Sundiata Gaines, Meet Dontell Jefferson

Idaho started off okay, but the Flash were able to limit their possessions (just 95 for the Stampede, which will probably be about as low as it'll get all season), and Dontell Jefferson put Sundiata Gaines on lockdown.  Gaines has been fantastic so far for Idaho, but yesterday shot just 5-15, missed four of his five three-pointers, and scored less than 20 points for the first time all season.  He finished with 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals, but he was forced into some tough shots and missed five straight at one point in the second quarter.  The rest of the Stampede didn't fare much better, shooting under 30 percent from outside overall, and Anthony Tolliver shot 3-11.  Mildon Ambres grabbed 15 rebounds but needed 16 shots to get 10 points.  Cedric Simmons got the start and was one of the few bright spots offensively for Idaho; 26 points on 11-17 shooting, and he threw in four blocks for good measure.

Utah got Luke Nevill back, and while he's still finding his way on offense, the freshly be-visa-ed Aussie had eight boards in 22 minutes.  Jefferson wasn't great offensively either, but he was terrific guarding Gaines and had seven assists, and after his second turnover in the first quarter he didn't have another one until there were 12 seconds left in the game.  He did a fantastic job keeping Gaines and the rest of Idaho's offense from getting comfortable.  Utah got its scoring primarily from Andre Ingram and Carlos Wheeler, who have each played pretty well so far this year.  Wheeler had 24 points on 11-16 shooting along with seven rebounds.  Ingram made four of his five threes (three of which came in the second quarter) on the way to 21 points, and seven boards of his own.  Utah got almost nothing from their bench (19 points on a combined 6-19), but they didn't really need it.