Molten Player of the Month: Lynard Stewart
Three-time BBL All-Star Lynard Stewart, of the league- leading
Newcastle Eagles, has won the Molten Player of the Month award
for March.
The 6'8" centre has had a startling month and has recorded
double-doubles (points and rebounds) in his last five games,
culminating in 18 points and 16 rebounds against the Marshall
MK Lions last Friday.
In their BBL Championship games over the month, he averaged
19 points and 10.4 rebounds per game, but most amazingly he
has shot 78.7% from the field as the team have gone 6-1 in
the league with a chance to secure their second league title
in three years this weekend.
Other notable performances included 25 points and 13 boards
against the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets, and 20 points and 10
rebounds against the Kularoos Plymouth Raiders.
Disappointingly for the 31-year-old Pennsylvanian, the Eagles
started the month with a BBL Trophy Final defeat to the Guildford
Heat. However, he managed 26 points and 6 rebounds in that
game.
By winning the accolade, Stewart has continued the dominance
of big-men in the 2007/08 Molten Player of the Month award.
Only one guard, Jayson Obazuaye in January, has won it this
season.
Honourable mentions also go to point guards Chuck Evans (Worcester
Wolves) and Terrell Brown (Marshall MK Lions). The former,
in particular, after he recorded back-to-back triple doubles
(points, assists, and rebounds) against the SAMG Verve Scottish
Rocks and Everton Tigers in his first two games of the month.
Stewart's rival centre, Ibrahim Gariba of the PAWS London
Capital, also had a standout month of March.
Molten Coach of the Month: Paul James
Paul James, the Head Coach of the Guildford Heat, has been
awarded as the Molten Coach of the Month for March.
The Heat's opening game of the month saw them lift the BBL
Trophy for the first time in their history, beating two-time
winners the Newcastle Eagles 86-79 live on Setanta Sports
in the final.
The other major highlight during the month was their replication
of that 86-79 score line with a further defeat of the Eagles
in the BBL Championship on the 23rd March. That win has kept
the Heat's defence of their title alive, especially as they
host the Eagles, whom they have now beaten on three occasions
this season, once more this weekend.
Overall, the Heat went 5-2 in March and have won their last
four games - defeating the Capital, Sharks, Eagles, and Jets.
They currently sit in third place in the BBL Championship
table with three games in hand over the second-placed Kularoos
Plymouth Raiders.
Coach James now prepares his team for a crucial double-header
weekend as they travel to the Birmingham Panthers on Saturday
night, before hosting the Eagles once more in what could potentially
be a BBL Championship decider. If the Eagles beat Everton
on Friday, then they would win the title on the Heat's floor
with a win at The Spectrum on Sunday.
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