So, simple enough, the Utes did.

The Utes broke out of a long-range shooting slump in spectacular fashion, making a dozen three-pointers and cruising to an 83-72 victory over the Rebels in front of - yes, you're reading this correctly - 312 fans at the Ocean Center, just across the street from the legendary beach.

Freshman guard Jordan Cyphers buried three three-pointers in a row at one point in his first significant college action, while senior forward Shaun Green and senior guard Lawrence Borha scored 19 points apiece, and made seven three-pointers between them. Even senior guard Tyler Kepkay made the kind of clutch play that so often eluded him last season, floating a high rainbow practically over the backboard as his momentum carried him out of bounds with one second on the shot clock as part of his 13 points.

"They had guy after guy after guy step up and make shots," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy marveled.

Green was particularly hot, making 7 of 10 shots overall and 5 of 8 three-pointers, after having scored just 19 points in the first two games combined. The 2-1 Utes had made only eight three-pointers in the first two games, too, but inexplicably changed all that and thwarted the Ole Miss strategy. They will take on Morgan State today.

"We just took the open shots that we got," Green said. "They happened to be threes and we hit them tonight, which opened up the second half for Luke to go to work. That's just like a trademark of our team. Once we get one area going, then the other area is going to step up and finish the game for us."

Nevill finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and the 7-foot-2 senior was even better than those statistics suggest. He frequently altered shots that his teammates wound up rebounding, passed deftly out of double-teams and played a season-high 37 minutes - a number surpassed only three times in his career.

In fact, all of the Utes looked remarkably assured.

Though Ole Miss clearly wanted to use its athleticism to rattle Utah on defense, the Utes handled it expertly, pinging crisp passes back and forth around the floor in search of the open shot and staying poised whenever the Rebs tried to make a run.

"Good teams, winning teams, do that," coach Jim Boylen said. "I thought we matched their big plays with a couple of big plays."

The Utes were never really in trouble, though, not after Green scored eight straight points in the first half to give them a 10-point lead. Though preseason All-SEC point guard Chris Warren scored 22 points, the Rebels were playing without injured guards Eniel Polynice and Trevor Gaskins, and could not muster a serious threat.

"Maybe we're learning how to win," Boylen said.

mcl@sltrib.comUtah 83, Mississippi 72