Blackburn Dominates Men's Basketball Conference Awards

The Blackburn College Men's Basketball Team, winners of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season, picked up a bevy of all-conference awards which were announced today.  Junior guard Chanz Aldridge, who led the Beavers in scoring and was second in the SLIAC in scoring was named the conference player of the year.  Aldridge is the first player of the year for the Beavers since Zak Allan won in 2005-06.  Aldridge averaged 22.3 points per game and also appeared in the list of league leaders in free throws made and free throw percentage.

"We are extremely proud of Chanz and his achievements, he impacts the game so much on both ends of the floor," said Blackburn Head Coach Austin Kirby.  "He works at his craft daily and we knew we had a special talent and he's just getting started here at Blackburn, I'm excited to see what else he can achieve," added Kirby.

Joining Aldridge on the first team was Javon Stovall. Stovall a COVID junior from Canton, Ohio was second for the Beavers in scoring averaging 16.2 points per game. "Stovy is a fantastic teammate that is everything and more that you could ask for," said Austin Kirby.  "We knew he could have this type of season, he can score at all levels and has a great motor," added Kirby.  "He is a great person and is very deserving of his awards. 

Both Aldridge and Stovall were named to the conference all-defensive team. Blackburn led the conference in scoring defense this season.  

Named to the 3rd Team was Cristian Wagner.  Wagner led Blackburn in rebounding and leads the conference in free throw percentage. "Cristian is one of the most versatile players in the league, he can do it all and he makes us very good," said Austin Kirby.

The conference sixth man of the year award went to David Lopez.  Lopez, from Barcelona Spain, averaged 9.3 points per game coming off the bench. "David is our 6th starter and embraces his role." said Austin Kirby.  "He is electric and plays extremely hard defensively and on the glass.  We get a spark and don't skip a beat when he is on the floor," added Kirby

Bryson Kirby was named to the conference all-sportsmanship team. "We wanted our sportsmanship selection to be someone who helped make us really good and represents our program well," said Austin Kirby.  "He's a great player that has great relationships with his teammates," added Austin Kirby.

And finally, Head Coach Austin Kirby was named conference coach of the year as he led the Beavers to their first outright conference regular season championship since 2002-03.  "I'm excited to be the coach of a team that has tremendous guys that come to work everyday.  They are great people and a pleasure to be around," said Austin Kirby.  Having Coach Reed (Rusten) and Coach Neo (Nigel Ferrell) make me better everyday and I'm lucky to have them," added Austin Kirby.

The Beavers host Fontbonne University for the SLIAC Tournament Championship tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. in Carlinville.