ATHENS, Ohio – Zach Filzen scored 20 of his career-high 23 points in the second half to help Buffalo rally from an 18-point deficit for a 73-68 victory before a season-high 10,427 at The Convo on Saturday during Dad’s Weekend.

Javon McCrea came off the bench to score 12 of his 21 points after the break, while Byron Mulkey had 12 points for the Bulls, who trailed 43-25 at halftime.

Nick Kellogg and DeVaughn Washington each scored 14 points for the Bobcats, who lost for the fifth time in six games, including all four home games during that stretch. Ivo Baltic added 10 points while D.J. Cooper was held to six points and eight assists on 2-of-10 shooting.

Buffalo (11-6, 3-2 Mid-American Conference) shot 72 percent in the second half after connecting on just 30 percent of its shots in the first half and took its third straight victory after losing its first two MAC games. The Bulls also had just four turnovers after halftime and 13 before.

A Filzen 3-ponter gave with 7:05 remaining gave the Bulls the lead for good at 58-55, but the Bobcats (8-11, 1-4 MAC) had chances down the stretch.

After falling behind by five, two Tommy Freeman free throws cut it to a one-possession lead at the 3:51 mark. After getting a stop, Kellogg missed a triple try and Washington missed two free throws after collecting an offensive rebound. Ohio finished 16 of 25 at the line, while Buffalo was 15 of 19.

McCrea scored in the paint with 1:39 remaining to put Buffalo ahead by five. Washington scored on a dunk to cut the Buffalo lead to three, but McCrea scored again with 1:05 remaining for a 71-66 advantage.

Washington threw down another two points, and Mulkey missed on the front end of a one-and-one with 41 seconds to go. Cooper rebounded and pushed the ball up court, but had the ball stolen away from behind by Mulkey, who then connected on two at the line.

Ohio then missed three 3-pointers in the final 27 seconds.

The Bobcats led 4-3 early and took command with a 7-0 run capped off by a Cooper three-point play, but he did not score again until making a 3-pointer with 4:31 remaining in the game.

A Tony Watson jumper with 4:56 cut the Bulls’ deficit to 29-22 with 4:56 showing on the first-half clock, but Kellogg began a big Bobcats run with a 3-pointer at the 3:16 mark. Ohio scored the final nine points of the first half during a larger 14-3 run.

Mulkey opened the second half with a trey and he and Filzen later hit back-to-back shots from behind the arc to cut Ohio’s lead to single digits.

Another Filzen 3-pointer tied the game at 51 at the 9:38 mark before a Mulkey layup at the 7:45 mark gave Buffalo its first lead of the game.

Ohio gave up 10 offensive rebounds, but had 12 of its own. Cooper led the Bobcats with five total rebounds, while Mitchell Watt had eight boards to go with eight points for the Bulls.

Having completed the first round of play against the MAC East, Ohio hosts Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. Wednesday.