TULSA, Okla. -- Jackson Emery went from looking like he was out cold Tuesday, to looking much clearer in the eyes, to darn near appearing as if he'd rejoin the game.

And if the sophomore guard could procure that kind of toughness, considering how hard he smacked his head on the Reynolds Center floor early in the second half, then there were no excuses for the rest of BYU to not pull out a win at Tulsa.

It happened, 74-68, despite Golden Hurricane coach Doug Wojcik taking a guess that if the Cougars were limited on 3-point shot success and fast-break points -- as they were in wildly abnormal statistical snapshots -- that "we would've won the game."

Wojcik called it the intangible of a "will to win." The Cougars, under some subtle differences, pointed out the need to "play to win."

Ultimately, the concepts and phrases came down to the same thing. The 11-1 Cougars hustled at both ends of the rebounding ledger and gritted out scores in their half-court set, when the usually strong transition game resulted in just four points and 25-percent accuracy from long range.

They also didn't try to merely hold onto the scoreboard advantage for dear life.

"Guys made good plays down the stretch," said Lee Cummard, whose late string of free throws gave the senior leader a game-high 26 points.

Jonathan Tavernari produced 20, split among each half, to go with 10 rebounds and Jimmer Fredette added 13 points as the Cougars rebounded from their only loss of the season two Saturdays ago at Arizona State.

Now they'll get ready for No. 6-ranked Wake Forest on Saturday, a rare and huge opportunity against an Atlantic Coast Conference team on the Cougars' home floor.

"I'm excited to practice," BYU coach Dave Rose quipped about returning home immediately after the game so his team could do just that.

BYU has to feel good about how it's returning west, and not just because it's by private plane again. It has just defeated a team that albeit is now 8-5, but had three of those defeats come to big-name teams.

Tulsa also had won 28 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents, and the Conference USA outfit had won 18 in a row overall.

"It just wasn't to be on this night," said TU's Ben Uzoh, the season-leading scorer who put in a 15 (Justin Hurtt had 17 to pace the Golden Hurricane).

But Uzoh would also admit more than fate was at stake.

The Cougars were, in the estimation of his coach as well, simply more determined.

They fell behind 32-24 and the lead could've swelled to 10, and really gotten the crowd of nearly 5,600 rollicking, if an alley-oop slam dunk had been converted.

"It could've gotten away from us," Rose said.

But the decent pass from near half court was mishandled, and that's when Tulsa stopped looking so precious at home.

"I'd like to have some of those plays back," Wojcik said.

Maybe two more than others in an often fast-paced game that Rose pointed out had numerous momentum swings: The missed dunk, and a horrible late attempt that sealed the TU defeat.

Right after the slam-dunk gaffe, Emery came down and drained a 3-pointer out of an extended possession.

It was right in front of Tulsa's bench. Not that the sophomore will be thinking about that this morning.

He'll be the only Cougar reaching for aspirin, though he's expected to be just fine.

Just 93 seconds into the second half, he slammed his head on the ground as he was off-balance after jumping high for a defensive rebound. BYU trailed 37-33 at that point.

Emery tied his career high in rebounds (six) and had the game-changing shot but was fairly fortunate to leave Oklahoma under his own power as he came down with great force.

His teammates noticed how Emery went from seeming to be in really bad shape: "I thought he was out cold," Cummard noted.

Or at least wounded: "I saw blood and I thought it was from his head. But luckily it wasn't, it was from his elbow. That was good to see," Fredette said.

Emery had a lot of cobwebs to clear, and he never did return. But he was standing and at one point getting monitored by team trainer Rob Ramos as he moved around an area behind the team bench.

Emery's eyes stopped looking so glassy, and he seemed into the final seven minutes.

Which was good, because it was a more pleasant repeat of the ASU game.

Emery was out of action (though this time by something more severe than foul trouble) and the Cougars had to try and hold on tight to a lead.

This time it was eight points with 6 1/2 minutes, and twice the margin reached nine shortly after, roughly the same situation as Dec. 20.

Fredette had some sloppy turnovers, but part of that could be faulted on minutes. Emery's absence left his fellow second-year player at 36 -- 19 of a possible 20 in the second half.

"I figured I needed to be a little more aggressive getting to the basket, for my teammates and for myself," Fredette said.

Defense won it, though. Rose praised his team for adhering to the game plan and forcing some tough shots.

None was worse for TU than Ray Reese's off-balance no-chancer over two players, when his team trailed 69-65 with just under two minutes left. (Ten seconds remained on the shot clock.)

"No comment," was all Wojcik could say, before adding it was indeed a bad choice.

There were a handful of those moments late, and when Tulsa missed BYU secured possession.

Not that BYU's accuracy was that much to brag about. A team that thrives on 3-point shooting made just 3-of-12. And TU's knack for offensive rebounds (15-7) helped produce 19 more shots.

But the Hurricane shot 36 percent, compared to BYU's 52-percent clip.

Deflections and steals were the culprit, Rose said, even though statistics weren't in BYU's favor.

Tulsa went on a 9-0 run in the first half, the largest run by a BYU opponent this season. And it also had an eight-point lead in the first half, the largest advantage by a BYU opponent this season. The game is also the first time the Cougars did not lead by at least 10 points at some point.

No sweat.

"We got into a rhythm where we played how we play," Rose said.