Utah
Thunder beat Jazz despite late-game challenge blunder
When the officials blew their whistle with 12.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter of a tight game between the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night, signaling that the ball had gone out of bounds, there was confusion on the faces of the officials.
Whose ball was it?
Collin Sexton had driven into the paint, drawn two defenders and passed to his left to a cutting Walker Kessler.
It was a great play. Unfortunately, Chet Holmgren bailed out on Sexton once he saw what was developing and blocked Kessler’s shot.
Once the ball was loose, it landed in the middle of a cacophony of hands and bodies, and by the time it popped out and sailed out of bounds, the officials weren’t sure who touched it last.
Due to the confusion, they called a jump ball.
Jazz coach Will Hardy looked down the bench at George Rodman, the member of his staff in charge of determining whether a challenge is worthwhile.
Rodman believed it was off the Thunder, but Hardy saw that the Jazz only had one timeout left and then looked at Kessler.
“George had decent confidence in it, but I’ve seen George way more adamant with me to challenge than that play,” Hardy said.
“In the moment with Walker on the court, I just looked at Walk and said, ‘Win the jump.’ I had faith that he would win it.”
But to most everyone’s surprise, in the final seconds before play resumed, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault signaled for a timeout and a challenge.
“Their own guys were saying, ‘No, no, no don’t challenge it,’” Kessler said. “I think they knew it was not their ball.”
Apparently, not everyone knew because Daigneault was willing to take the risk. Although there was a small chance that on replay the officials still wouldn’t be able to determine who last touched the ball, which would result in an unsuccessful challenge and the Thunder losing a timeout, any successful determination would mean that the Thunder would keep their timeout.
But if the determination was that it was in fact Jazz ball, the Jazz would have possession and a chance to cut the lead to just a single point. And that’s exactly what happened.
“After review, the replay-center official overturns the call on the floor from a jump ball to Utah possession,” official James Williams said.
“Because the call on the floor was changed, the challenge by Oklahoma City is successful. They maintain their timeout and they still have a challenge remaining. Utah ball, 12.3 on the game clock.”
On the ensuing possession, had the Jazz been able to hit a 3-pointer, this could be a completely different story — one about a massive blunder of a challenge that changed the tide of a game for the Thunder when it seemed like they had the game in hand.
But after the challenge, OKC was very lucky that 39.3% 3-point shooter Simone Fontecchio missed a wide open look.
“If you had shown me a snapshot of the look that Simo got I would have signed up for that,” Hardy said.
“(The Thunder) kind of blew up the initial part of the action. Collin threw the ball in quick to Jordan (Clarkson), but Jordan had great recognition of the situation and Simo sprang into space and he’s a good shooter and he got a good look.”
But Fontecchio missed.
Clarkson got the rebound and missed a mid-range bank shot, but by that time it was over. Holmgren hit a free throw on the other end and then time expired.
The Utah Jazz’s six-game win streak was ended with a 134-129 loss to the Thunder.
Utah
Here are the new and returning elected leaders in Utah County
OREM — The first wave of results from the 2025 general municipal election is signaling several political shake-ups, as many cities will have new mayors replacing leaders who decided it was time to step down — and in some cases, incumbents who were defeated by their challengers.
Here are the results of some of the biggest races in Utah’s second-most populous county:
Vineyard
In preliminary results Tuesday night, Zack Stratton, an entrepreneur and businessman, had received 58% of the vote toward becoming the city’s next mayor. City Councilwoman Mardi Sifuentes trails Stratton with 41% of the votes.
Julie Fullmer has been the mayor of Vineyard for the last eight years. But she has faced some pushback from adherents of City Councilman Jacob Holdaway, who claims she is deceptive and corrupt. Fullmer, however, has said Holdaway has been combative and slowed progress in the city.
Fullmer previously announced she would not be running for reelection this year, opening the door to significant change in the small city.
Sifuentes has served with Fullmer for several years now, and Stratton is backed by Holdaway. A Stratton win could mean a shift in the dynamic among City Council members as well as other changes within the growing city.
Vineyard residents were also tasked with electing an additional council member after 74% of voters favored Proposition 10 in last year’s election, which adjusted the city’s government structure by adding an additional council position.
In the race for the new seat, Parker McCumber was leading with 21% of the vote Tuesday night, followed by Jacob Wood with 20.6% of the vote and David Lauret with 20.2% in the unofficial results. Current Councilman Brett Clawson was trailing with nearly 14% of the vote, and Utah County administrator Ezra Nair, who is also vying for the role, had 12.8% of the vote.
Orem
In Orem, Mayor David Young is running again. Young ran on the idea of making Orem “Family City USA,” with a strong emphasis on opposition to high-density housing. But his time as the city’s mayor may be coming to an end.
Tuesday night’s preliminary results show Young’s opponent, Karen McCandless, outpacing the incumbent with 52% of the votes to his 47%.
McCandless is CEO of Community Action Services and Food Bank. She previously served on Orem’s City Council from 2001 to 2014.
As mayor, Young has pushed for an Orem-only school, which was ultimately shot down by voters. He also faced some public scrutiny when his son was involved in a million-dollar fraud lawsuit in 2022. That lawsuit was resolved in December 2024 in an out-of-court settlement that the mayor was happy with, according to the mayor’s spokesman.
Three City Council seats are also up for grabs in Orem. Newcomer Quinn Mecham was leading the way in Tuesday’s unofficial results with 17.9% of the votes, followed by Doyle Mortimer (16.9%) and Angela Moulton (16.38%).
Current council members LaNae Millett and David Spencer were both trailing their opponents Tuesday night. Millett had 16.37% of the vote, and Spencer had 15.9%.
Crystal Muhlestein, who serves as the chairwoman for House District 56 for the Utah County Republican Party, is also vying for a seat on the City Council. She had 16.2% of the vote on Tuesday night.
Provo
Mayor Michelle Kaufusi has been leading the city of Provo since 2018. Attempting a third term, she faced off against former Utah Rep. Marsha Judkins.
In a tight race, Kaufusi had 50.6% of the votes Tuesday night, but Judkins wasn’t far behind with 49.3%.
Provo residents are also voting on several seats on the City Council:
- In the race for the citywide seat, current Councilwoman Katrice MacKay was up with 61.2% of the vote to Adam Shin’s 38.7%.
- Two newcomers are vying for the District 2 seat in an extremely tight race. Early results show Jeff Whitlock ahead, with 50.13% of the vote, and Hannah Petersen right behind with 49.87%. The winner will replace current Councilman George Handley,
- In the District 5 race, incumbent Councilwoman Rachel Whipple was outpacing newcomer Sam Blackburn with 67% of the vote to his 32%.
Eagle Mountain
Eagle Mountain is sure to see some change, as current Mayor Tom Westmoreland did not make it past the primary election, despite being endorsed by both Gov. Spencer Cox and former state Rep. Phil Lyman. This outcome may have stemmed from the city considering changing code to allow for a nuclear power plant to be built in Eagle Mountain, which residents vehemently disagreed with.
Council members Melissa Clark and Jared R. Gray faced off for the open position. In another tight race, Gray had 52.55% of the votes to Clark’s 47.45% Tuesday night.
Other elections of note
Wade Menlove is running unopposed to be the first mayor of Spring Lake, a newly incorporated town situated between Payson and Santaquin.
In the race for Spring Lake’s town council, two candidates will be selected to serve four-year terms. David Charles was in the lead with 32% of the vote Tuesday, followed by Joy Benson with 29%.
Two candidates are also being selected to serve two-year terms on the Town Council. Robert Marsh was leading the way with 31% of the votes, with Sharon Bascom with 29% Tuesday night.
In the north end of the county, Lehi will also have a new mayor, as current Mayor Mark Johnson did not run for a third term. Councilwoman Paige Albrecht is vying for the spot to fill his shoes, facing off against newcomer Paul Binns. The race was tight Tuesday night, with Binns in the lead at 52.07% and Albrecht at 47.93%.
In a similar situation, Pleasant Grove Mayor Guy Fugal did not throw his hat in the ring this year. Two council members, Eric Jensen and Cyd Lemone, faced off for the seat. Jensen was in the lead with 57.87% of the votes, with Lemons trailing at 42.13%.
A full list of Utah County results can be found on the state’s election website.
Utah
Arizona State begins season at home against Southern Utah
Southern Utah Thunderbirds at Arizona State Sun Devils
Tempe, Arizona; Tuesday, 9 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Sun Devils -16.5; over/under is 150.5
BOTTOM LINE: Arizona State opens the season at home against Southern Utah.
Arizona State went 13-20 overall with a 5-9 record at home during the 2024-25 season. The Sun Devils averaged 74.1 points per game while allowing opponents to score 76.8 last season.
Southern Utah finished 3-11 on the road and 12-19 overall a season ago. The Thunderbirds shot 42.5% from the field and 31.3% from 3-point range last season.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Utah
Jazz G Isaiah Collier Nearing Season Debut After Injury
It looks like Isaiah Collier is nearing his opportunity to make his official season debut for the Utah Jazz.
According to a team announcement, Isaiah Collier has been recalled from the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz’s G League affiliate.
We have recalled guard Isaiah Collier from the Salt Lake City Stars.#TakeNote
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 3, 2025
Collier was with the Stars for a few days as part of his conditioning work of returning to play, following up from his hamstring injury that held him out of the Jazz’s training camp, preseason, and start of the regular season.
However, now that Collier is off the Stars’ roster and back on for the Jazz, the second-year guard should be preparing to make his season debut in the very near future, perhaps during Utah’s current five-game road trip.
Collier was a welcomed bright spot of the Jazz’s roster upon arriving last year as the 29th-overall pick, making his presence felt in a major way pretty quickly within Utah’s backcourt.
In the 71 games he appeared in, Collier averaged 8.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists on just under 26 minutes a night, emerging as a nightly starter following the All-Star break, and being one of the best playmakers and facilitators on the roster.
Now for his second season in Utah, he’ll be entering a vastly different Jazz backcourt; one with no more Collin Sexton or Jordan Clarkson in the mix, and instead, currently being led by third-year guard Keyonte George and rookie Walt Clayton Jr.
As the Jazz continue their road of player development and expanding the roles of their young players this season, Collier should wind up having a solid role in Utah’s backcourt as the year goes on. As he returns initially, the year-two guard could find his place as a quality backup point guard within their already-young second unit.
His first chance to return to the Jazz’s lineup will come quickly against the Boston Celtics in TD Garden as part of Utah’s second leg of a back-to-back. But if not that soon, look for the following matchup vs. the Detroit Pistons as a potential date for Collier’s long-awaited addition back into the fold.
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