Senior guard Zach Filzen hasn't been at the top of his game lately. He had seemingly lost his touch since conference play began. Without his scoring, the team has lost two of its first three conference battles.
On Wednesday night, in front of the home crowd and with the Mid-American Conference East Division leaders in town, Filzen reminded the MAC that he is still one of the deadliest shooters in the country, and it couldn't have come at a better time.
Buoyed by the timely shooting of Filzen, the Bulls (9-6, 2-2 MAC) landed a big body blow to the previously undefeated Akron Zips (11-7, 3-1 MAC), winning 82-70 in front of a raucous crowd in Alumni Arena.
"I had some good conversations with [assistant coach] Turner Battle and Coach [Reggie] Witherspoon Monday," Filzen said. "I just think I wasn't moving as well as I'm capable of, and I wasn't as aggressive looking for my shot in the last couple of weeks. So I just tried to come out, move as much as I could, and if I was open, just let it fly."
Every time the home team needed a big bucket, Zach Filzen put on his cape and came to the rescue. His final 3-pointer with 1:16 left in the contest sealed the deal for the home team, and kept the True Blue faithful on its feet. The student crowd of 1,750 was the largest student attendance for a men's basketball game since 2005.
Filzen finished with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting. His 21 points were more than double Filzen's total scoring output in his last three games combined. In that stretch, he shot 2-11 from the field and only contributed nine points. His five three-pointers Wednesday rocked Alumni Arena, leaving Akron head coach Keith Dambrot visibly upset afterward.
"That's probably as poor a defensive performance as we have had all year," Dambrot said. "It doesn't take a genius to know that you have to guard [Filzen] and [sophomore forward] Javon McCrea. He hit some contested shots…but we were undisciplined and brain dead at times – that's the only way to describe it."
Numerous Bulls stepped up against the Zips, as the hosts had four players finish with double-figure scoring on the night. Sophomore guard Jarod Oldham stuffed the stat sheet, nearly finishing with a triple double with 11 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. He also added three steals and a blocked shot.
"It's challenging for underclassmen point guards in our conference," Witherspoon said. "The last three years we have had seniors, and he is such a talented kid. He's not going to back away from a challenge. He did a better job being physical with the basketball. He is making strides, and our guys are learning each other as well."
The Buffalo bigs lived up to their billing, as McCrea ended with 15 points and seven rebounds. He and senior forward Mitchell Watt frustrated Zips' touted big man Zeke Marshall. Marshall finished with only 13 points, and his frustration was visible on the young center's face.
"[Buffalo] picked on him, and they have the tendency to go at him, which a lot of people don't," Dambrot said. "They came low block at him, and I thought he gave up easy position." Watt rounded out the double figure scoring with 11 points, scoring from down on the low block and also nailing some timely three point baskets early. He finished with five blocks, but altered many other shots as the visitors were left frustrated and unable to get good looks all game.
The Bulls shot 49 percent from the field, which is their best shooting performance in the last five games.
For the visiting Zips, Quincy Diggs and Nikola Cvetinovic led the team in scoring with 17 points each. As a team, they shot poorly from three, only converting on 29 percent of their shots from deep.
The Bulls won key battles in rebounding (37-36) as well as in turnovers (18-16).
The Bulls will travel to Ohio this weekend to take on the always-tough Bowling Green Falcons (8-9, 2-2 MAC) in the brand new Stroh Center on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m.
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