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Provo • After star shooting guard Nick Emery suffered a knee injury in Saturday's 62-47 win over Pacific, BYU coach Dave Rose said he could only hope the Cougars dodged a major bullet.
Looks like he got his wish.
Emery practiced in spurts on Tuesday at the Marriott Center and could play Thursday when the Cougars travel back to the Bay Area to face surging Santa Clara.
"Nick has got a contusion [bruise] on his knee, but other than that it is stable," Rose said, noting there is no structural or soft tissue damage. "It is just pretty sore."
Emery's knee was struck by a Pacific player's knee while he was attempting a layup early in the second half. He did not return to the game.
"He got on the floor today, which is good," Rose said. "Yesterday he was just doing kinda rehab/therapy things, but today he got out there and moved around a little bit. So, it has improved a little bit. We will see how it feels tomorrow. … I do know one thing. I have been around Nick a long time. He wants to play. So if he can, he will. But we will see."
If Emery can't play or is limited, sophomore guard Elijah Bryant will likely get the start in his place.
In the 89-59 win over Santa Clara on Dec. 29 in Provo, Emery helped keep Santa Clara guard Jared Brownridge in check. The senior who is averaging 18.5 points per game had eight that night.
Rose said Bryant, T.J. Haws and perhaps even Steven Beo will be called on this time to guard the all-conference player.
Mika honored
Sophomore Eric Mika was named the WCC Player of the Week for the third time this season after averaging 19.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 100 percent from the free-throw line in wins over Pepperdine and Pacific. Mika is the first player to win the WCC honor three times this season, having also won it the weeks of Dec. 12 and Nov. 21.
Gonzaga watch
Gonzaga moved to No. 3 in both major polls and improved to 20-0 with an 83-64 win over Portland on Monday. It should be 22-0 when it travels to Provo to take on BYU on Feb. 2. The Zags host San Diego on Thursday and travel to Pepperdine on Saturday.
Briefly
Haws is third all-time among BYU freshmen for 3-pointers in a single season, with 45. He's seventh in the WCC in 3-pointers per game (2.1) and steals per game (1.2). … Fellow freshman Yoeli Childs is third in the WCC in rebounding with 8.1 per game. … A sophomore, Emery has made 149 3-pointers in his career and is currently 10th on BYU's career 3-pointers list.
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU at Santa Clara
O 9 p.m. Thursday
TV • ESPNU