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PROVO — Nick Emery had been in just a bit of a slump, and he knew it.
No one needed to tell him, or remind him how he was scoring well below his season average in a freshman season with BYU men's basketball that started out strong. BYU coach Dave Rose said the freshman scoring sensation always feels like he can play better — and he was feeling it all the more headed into Thursday night's late tipoff against Santa Clara.
But the former Lone Peak standout righted the ship in the 97-61 rout of the Broncos.
Emery scored a team-high 23 points against the Broncos — his first 20-point performance since Dec. 23 against New Mexico and most points since Dec. 12 at Colorado — to get back on track in the 97-61 rout. And all it took was a little home flavor and some extra motivation from a crowd that chanted "Shoot it!" every time he got the ball while teammate Kyle Collinsworth was putting together the NCAA-record-extending ninth triple-double of his career.
"That's fun. When the crowd gets into it, you get into it," Emery said after the Cougars' blowout win over Santa Clara. "The emotions are there, and you love to win."
Emery gave a lot of the credit for his miniature slump-buster to Collinsworth, who struck for 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against the Broncos. But it was Emery who helped pull BYU into coast mode, putting together back-to-back scoring opportunities early in the first half to keep Santa Clara from getting back into the game.
The true freshman hit his second 3-pointer early in the second half, and a Broncos offense led by WCC No. 2 scorer Jared Brownridge was held mostly in check while Emery did his thing.
Even as Emery put in below-average six- and 11-point games on the road against Saint Mary's and Pacific, though, he never panicked. Instead, he focused on the next step.
"It's just basketball; some games, you hit shots and some games you don't," Emery said. "But these guys have a trust in me to knock down shots when I need to, and so I have all the confidence in the world when it's my play and I'm going to make it."
His head coach, though, knew something was different Thursday night.
"In 24 minutes, that's a pretty impressive line," BYU coach Dave Rose said of Emery, who converted on 5-of-6 3-point attempts. "He got in a little bit of foul trouble in the second half, got his hands involved, but he was really aggressive and really engaged. He's a competitor. He had a good game, and it was good to see him get back on track."
Now Emery hopes to translate the same performance to the Cougars' next home game Saturday against San Francisco — the second of two home games in a nine-game stretch away from the Marriott Center that bridges non-conference play and the start of the league season.
"I think it's good. To finally knock down shots gets your confidence going, and you feel comfortable," Emery said. "When you get to league play, they are scouting our team great and know exactly what we do. You've got to overcome that."
Preparing for USF on a short turnaround won't be easy. But that's why Emery and the rest of a young BYU team with just three seniors relies on Collinsworth and fellow seniors Chase Fischer and Nate Austin.
"Nick will find out right when he gets in the game about San Francisco," Collinsworth said with a grin. "They're just tough; they play tough for the full 40 minutes, and they'll give everything they have. They're a different team than Santa Clara; they like to get in the paint. You have to play well, and have a consistent effort, because that's what they are good at. They keep going at you."
