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PROVO — Nick Emery made his return to BYU's lineup as a substitute in Wednesday night's 80-68 win over Utah State.
The former Lone Peak standout scored 17 of the Cougars' 20 points off the bench and also had six rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes of his first game action since being suspended with a flagrant-two foul for throwing a punch in last week's loss at Utah.
But Emery is not the typical substitute, even if that's where he was listed on the roster Wednesday night in the Marriott Center.
"Nick has established himself as one of our top eight guys," BYU coach Dave Rose said of Emery, who also filled in at point guard with Kyle Collinsworth saddled with three fouls early in the second half. "We really missed him the other night. I challenged him to go out and play hard, and give his best effort. I was pleased with how good he is in execution: Defensively and offensively he hit some big shots early."
His teammates noticed the impact of Emery's return to the court right away.
"Nick is a great guy, and we're just excited that he's back," said Kyle Davis, who had 14 points and a team-high 14 rebounds against his former Aggie teammates. "He brings so much energy, and plays so hard; you can see it watching him. He brings so much to the games, and he's the same in practice. To have that threat is huge for us."
The Cougars (6-2) are also grateful for a defensive touch that kickstarted their offense. Chase Fischer led BYU with 24 points and four rebounds, but he also supplied a game-high three steals — which played into his offensive game as much as connecting on 4 of 9 3-pointers.
"I'm getting more active, and it gets my body going," Fischer said. "I'm a very emotional player; I talk a lot, as these guys know. But when I get into defense, it really fuels my offense and lets me get in a rhythm."
The Aggies (5-2) shot just 24.2 percent from the field in the first half, making just eight shots while running up and down the court and attempting 33. Until a flurry of late 3-pointers, Utah State was in danger of hitting fewer than 20 shots for the game.
Rose gave a lot of that credit to his team's defense, and a lot of that defensive credit went to Fischer and the BYU backcourt.
"He's really settled into how he can help our team, and he's playing in the moment for this day," Rose said of Fischer. "He's left a lot of the things that go into your mind through the summer. He's a lot more determined, and a lot more focused. He understands what he means to our team, and he's responded to that."
Jalen Moore led the Aggies with 15 points and six rebounds, but he shot just 6 of 17 from the field and defended familiar former teammate Davis, who admitted the start of the game was "a little weird" to see the Utah State watermark on the opposing team's uniforms.
"It felt like going back to practice two years ago," Davis said. "I think the world of Jalen; he's a great guy. I hope they have the best success they can."
Moving forward, BYU also improved on its free-throw shooting — a contentious source for the coaching staff after close losses at Long Beach State and at Utah.
But in a return home for the first time in 10 days, the Cougars connected on 80 percent of their free throws, converting 12 of 15 including a 6 of 6 effort from Fischer.
"The guys are spending a lot of time at the line," Rose said. "I think it comes down to what we talked about the other day (after practice): you get on a roll as a team, both ways. Hopefully we can get on that roll where we are making them and it gets contagious."
