By Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor

Chet Mason spent his first Miami season as a shooting guard doing the point guard's job.

Mason had come to Miami after averaging a triple-double for Cleveland South High School on his way to being named Division I co-Player of the Year by the Associated Press.

While assists was one of those double-figure averages, he was more used to scoring. His transition to a pass-first player wasn't easy.

Mason, known as "Chet the Jet," still isn't scoring as he did in his high school days. But Miami's implementation of the so-called Princeton-style offense is helping him showcase his all-around skills.

The 6-foot-3 sophomore, a junior academically after sitting out his freshman year as a partial academic qualifier, is leading the RedHawks with an average of 6.2 rebounds a game. He has 36 steals and led the team with a personal-high six assists in each of their past two games, both victories.

Miami (11-11, 9-4 Mid-American Conference) will try to move over .500 overall and on the road in the MAC for the first time this season when it plays Buffalo (4-8, 1-12 MAC) at noon today.

The RedHawks have won seven of their past nine games and are 3-3 on the road in the MAC. They already have matched their conference victory total of a season ago.

Mason has scored a total of only 13 points in the last two games, but his 12 assists and eight rebounds in a team-high 79 minutes were instrumental in victories over Marshall and Akron.

"I thought Chet Mason was very good today," Miami coach Charlie Coles said after the win over Marshall. "He kept us going. In order to do that, he sacrificed himself. We can't have him scoring (only) six points a lot of times, but today it was good."

"It's a good year," said Mason, who has increased his scoring from 8.0 points a game to 9.3. "I just want to win. I'm just trying to do whatever it takes. As far as scoring, I don't think about it. I want to try to help the team any way that I can. I try to do my best in rebounding."

Coles believes a guard such as Mason can thrive in the RedHawks' new offense, because it doesn't depend on one player handling the ball most of the time.

"It makes everybody a better all-around ballplayer," Coles said. "A lot of teams have one guy handling the ball. That's why the number of kids who can handle the ball is down. It helps everybody, and it helps Chet because he can cut to the basket. Boy, he can really cut to the basket.

"He was our quarterback against Marshall, and he did a real good job. I think it came naturally. It didn't come from the coaches telling him to slow down.

"I think he's growing as a guard, in other words. I think, in Chet's case, he's a very good player, but we need him to become a very good guard. There's a real difference. For us to be good, he has to be a good guard."

Said Mason: "I like this kind of offense. This is our first year of running it, and once we get it down, we'll be better. I can get open on cuts."

Miami at Buffalo

Tipoff: Noon today, Alumni Arena (8,500), Buffalo.

Records: Buffalo 4-8 (1-12 MAC), Miami 11-11 (9-4).

Radio: WCKY-AM (1360), WMOH-AM (1450), WFMG-FM (101.3).

TV: Fox Sports Ohio.

Series: Miami leads 8-1.

Favorite: Miami by 6‡.

MIAMI

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Juby Johnson	Jr.	6-5	15.2
Danny Horace	So.	6-5	12.1
Chet Mason	Jr.	6-3	9.3
Josh Hausfeld	Fr.	6-3	6.8
Bryan Reed	Sr.	6-6	2.9

Coach: Charlie Coles (118-89, seventh season; 210-173 overall).

BUFFALO

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Mark Bortz	So.	6-10	7.9
B.J. Walker	Fr.	6-9	7.7
Jason Bird	So.	6-5	7.2
Daniel Gilbert	So.	6-6	6.6
Davis Lawrence	Sr.	5-10	2.1

Coach: Reggie Witherspoon (23-70, fourth season; same overall).