With each game that passes, sophomore guard Jarod Oldham has continued to establish himself as one of the Mid-American Conference's rising stars at the point. He's becoming that missing link for a spot that seemed to be some sort of a mystery at the start of the season.
The Bulls (11-6, 4-2 MAC) overcame a cold shooting first half and eventually pulled away on the MAC West leaders, defeating the Eastern Michigan Eagles (9-11, 4-2 MAC), 65-47 at Alumni Arena Tuesday night for their third straight win.
Oldham, despite not making a field goal, made a lasting impact on the game. He finished with 10 assists on the night, and added four rebounds.
"He is getting better," said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "He's learning the floor game, he's learning to be patient, slow down and making the easy pass first."
Senior guard Zach Filzen had even loftier praise for the young guard.
"He's done a great job." Filzen said. "It's hard being a sophomore and trying to pick up things on the run. He had [former Bulls guard] Byron Mulkey to learn from, and also [assistant coach Turner] Battle, who was a heck of a player here. He's continuing to learn, he's getting better and better, and I think its pretty scary how good he could be in the future."
His passing prowess was infectious on this Bulls squad, as they tallied up 20 assists on 22 shots, an impressive feat for a team trying to establish itself as the best in the MAC.
"I think we moved the ball pretty well, but at times we could have moved the ball better," Filzen said. "That's the type team that we are, we love playing with each other, we love to hit the open man so I'm not surprised by it. It's an pretty impressive number."
Filzen shook off an ugly shooting night on Saturday in Bowling Green, scoring 16 points in the game. All five of his field goals came from three-point range, and it seems as if he feels comfortable with the friendly confines of Alumni Arena.
The Bulls' bigs dominated against one of the biggest teams in the MAC. Senior forward Mitchell Watt played through a knee injury, nearly finishing with a double-double, scoring 14 points and adding nine rebounds. He also added two blocks just for good measure.
Sophomore forward Javon McCrea once again led the Bulls in scoring, dropping 17 points.
Both players consistently frustrated the Eagles star forward Jamell Harris, as he eventually fouled out of the game, finishing with only seven points and one rebound.
"I think they have the best front court in the conference," said Eagles head coach Rob Murphy. "They showed us that tonight. [McCrea and Watt] did a good job of imposing their will in the paint, and did a good job executing on both ends of the floor."
Buffalo as a team dominated the Eagles on the boards, as they enjoyed a 36-26 rebounding edge. Every player on the Bulls that saw playing time was able to grab a least a rebound tonight.
As a team, the Bulls shook off a dreadful first half shooting-wise. The Eagles were able to use their length to frustrate the Bulls early. The home team shot 8-of-27 in the first half, good for only 29 percent.
The second half was a completely different story, as the Bulls were able to quicken the pace of the game; keeping Eastern Michigan off balance on defense. They missed only seven shots in the second half, going 14-of-21 from the field.
That, combined with the fact that the Eagles shot an awful 2-of-14 from three, proved to be the difference as the Bulls pulled away late.
The Bulls continue their MAC West portion of the schedule as they take on the Northern Illinois Huskies (2-15, 1-4 MAC) at the Convocation Center in Dekalb, Ill. Tipoff for the game on Saturday is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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Photo: Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics
Photo: Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics
