This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Santa Clara, Calif. • The BYU Cougars went into Thursday night's game at Santa Clara having never lost to the Broncos in a West Coast Conference game at the Leavey Center.
But that's not why they changed up the place.
The 4,700-seat arena, built in 1975 and renovated in 2002, has a new floor, for starters.
Also, Santa Clara students and their band now sit at the south end behind the basket next to the visiting team's bench in an attempt to provide a better home-court advantage. Before, the students sat at center court, but across the way from both teams' benches.
Thursday, every Santa Clara student received a white "rough riders" ball cap.
Nick Emery plays
After a few days of speculation regarding the condition of his bruised left knee, BYU guard Nick Emery started against the Broncos, and made a 3-pointer in the first half to extend his streak of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 31, an ongoing BYU record.
Emery was questionable because he suffered a left knee contusion in last week's 62-47 win at Pacific.
Guinn stays ready
Elijah Bryant's return to the regular rotation has meant fewer minutes for Davin Guinn, the one-time walk-on from Murrieta, Calif., who began his college career at UC Riverside.
Guinn was averaging 15 minutes a game through the 77-66 win over Weber State on Dec. 7. But since then he's averaged just 5.5 minutes, and the only game he's been in for more than nine minutes was the 88-75 loss to San Diego on Jan. 14 when he played 13 minutes and scored five points.
"This is my third year, and honestly I just want to win," Guinn said Tuesday. "That's what it comes down to, is I just want to win. So yeah, I have just tried to be ready whenever I am called on to go in. I think the other guys that are called off the bench and asked to go out there and perform, I think they have realized as well that is what they need to do to help the team."
Guinn's best game as a Cougar came against Valparaiso in Las Vegas when he made three second-half 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.
"As far as where I am, I am happy with the progress I have made," he said. "I am happy to do whatever it takes to get the W. If that means going in at awkward times, or just going in to give a guy a breather, it really doesn't matter to me."
Guinn entered Thursday's game averaging 2.3 points and 1.6 rebounds per game.
Looking back fondly
Six years ago Thursday, Jimmer Fredette set a Marriott Center single-game scoring record for a BYU player with 43 points as No. 9 BYU defeated No. 4 San Diego State 71-58 to hand the Aztecs their first loss of the 2010-11 season. It was 20-1 BYU's 10th straight win, and sixth in a row against SDSU.
NBA star Kevin Durant, then with the Oklahoma City Thunder, tweeted out that "Jimmer Fredette is the best scorer in the world!!"
WCC Honors
The West Coast Conference announced Thursday that it will honor former BYU women's basketball star Tina Gunn Robison in its ninth annual Hall of Honor class on March 4 at the conference tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Former Utah Jazz standout John Stockton, a Gonzaga product, will also be a member of the 2017 class.
Gunn, a 6-foot-3 center, was the first BYU women's basketball player to be named an All-American. She led the nation in scoring her senior season, averaging 31.2 ppg. in 1979-80.
Briefly
BYU coaches wore sneakers and suits to bring attention to the Coaches vs. Cancer campaign. BYU coach Dave Rose is a member of the National Coaches vs. Cancer Council. … Santa Clara guard Jared Brownridge entered the game ranking No. 7 on the WCC's career scoring chart with 2,104 points.
Twitter: @drewjay