This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • Now that's the Nick Emery that BYU basketball fans are accustomed to seeing.
Breaking out of a mild scoring slump that has plagued the sophomore guard the latter half of the season, Emery scored 26 points and created several opportunities for his teammates on Thursday night as BYU rolled past San Diego 82-70 at the Marriott Center.
Avenging an 88-75 loss at San Diego on Jan. 14 at Jenny Craig Pavilion, the Cougars improved to 19-9 and 10-5 in West Coast Conference play and held on to third place in the league with three games remaining.
San Diego, which fell 91-33 to BYU the last time it was in the Marriott Center, played much better this time but dropped to 11-16 and 4-11.
The 26 points was Emery's second-highest output of the season and came after he had just four points in last Saturday's win at San Francisco.
Elijah Bryant and Eric Mika added 15 apiece for BYU and Yoeli Childs and TJ Haws had 12 each as the Cougars' starters scored all but two points. Haws had seven assists before fouling out and Mika grabbed 10 rebounds.
Olin Carter III and Brett Bailey had 21 apiece for San Diego.
Leading by seven at halftime, the Cougars scored the second half's first five points and held the Toreros to just five points through the first six minutes of the half.
They were up 60-49 after a pretty spin move for a dunk by Childs, but the freshman picked up his fourth foul the next time down the court while going for a rebound and headed to the bench.
The Cougars extended the lead to 67-49, however, and kept a double-digit cushion from there in a foul-filled final 10 minutes.
The Cougars looked like they were going to blow the visitors out when Emery hit a 3-pointer with 5:45 left in the first half to give BYU a 37-19 lead. Mika followed with a basket on the next possession, BYU's 13th-straight made shot.
Then San Diego got as hot as the Cougars were, making six straight shots, including three straight 3-pointers. The Toreros cut the deficit to four, but Haws hit a 3-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer and give the Cougars a 45-38 lead at the break.
San Diego was 6 of 12 from 3-point range in the first half and shot 51.7 percent before the break, but was 4 of 16 in the second half from long range.
The Cougars went into an offensive funk after Mika's field goal with 5:09 left in the half, and did not make another field goal until Haws' buzzer-beater.
BYU finished the half shooting 53.3 percent, with Emery scoring 17 and Childs 10. Childs went to the bench with his second foul with 6:04 remaining in the half.
Before he departed, Childs took a highlight reel behind-the-back pass from Emery and slammed it home to give the Cougars a 34-19 lead.
The Cougars return to the Marriott Center on Saturday to host No. 21 Saint Mary's, an easy winner over Loyola Marymount on Thursday. The Cougars will honor seniors L.J. Rose and Kyle Davis in their final regular-season home game of the season.
Twitter: @drewjay —
Storylines
R Nick Emery scores 26 points before fouling out as the Cougars hold on to third place in the WCC.
• Eric Mika adds 15 points and 10 rebounds for BYU.
• San Diego's Olin Carter III and Brett Bailey scored 21 points each in the loss.