Looking to pick up ground in the playoff race, the Utah Flash took control early and were never really threatened, as they defeated the Colorado 14ers 108-99.
Trailing the 14ers for the sixth and final playoff spot, the Flash shot 52.8 percent from the floor and held Colorado to just 40.3 percent to improve to 20-22 on the season. The 14ers dropped to 23-18, and Utah is now within 3.5 games of Colorado with eight games to go.
"Obviously, this late in the year, and us being where we are, if we have any hope of making the playoffs, they're a team that's ahead of us," Flash coach Brad Jones said. "We gained ground on them tonight. We need help, but it was a big win for us."
The first quarter turned out to be a dual between Utah forward Morris Almond and Colorado forward Kaniel Dickens, who each had 11 points in the period.
The Flash jumped out to an early 11-7 lead, but the 14ers responded with a 9-4 run that included Dickens throwing down a thunderous windmill dunk on a fast break.
Utah closed the quarter on a 10-3 spurt and took a 29-23 lead at the end of the quarter after guard Brian Hamilton got a steal and a breakaway dunk.
The Flash threatened to break the game open in the second quarter, ripping off a 15-4 run to take a 50-35 lead.
Colorado responded with a 13-4 outburst to cut the lead to six, but Utah guard Gabe Pruitt drained a buzzer-beater from half court to give the Flash a 57-48 lead at halftime.
Utah maintained a relatively comfortable lead throughout the third quarter. The 14ers got to within six at one point, but the Flash stretched their lead back to 79-67 at the end of the period.
Colorado steadily chipped away at Utah's lead until they got it down to 93-88 with 3:56 to go in the game.
The Flash then stopped the bleeding when Pruitt saved a ball from the backcourt and passed to guard Kevin Kruger, who hit a long 3-pointer as the shot clock expired.
Utah added the next four points to extend the lead to 100-88, and they made their free throws down the stretch to extinguish any chance of a Colorado comeback.
Almond led all scorers with 33 points on 12-22 shooting. Pruitt had 20 points, and forward Brian Jackson had a strong overall game with 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Colorado guard Eddie Gill led the 14ers with 25 points, six rebounds and nine assists while Dickens finished with 21, eight and four.