CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Lesley University men's basketball senior forward Malachi Howard (Winter Haven, Fla.) has been named the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Defensive Player of the Week, as announced by the conference Monday afternoon. For Howard, this marks the third time this year and his career he has been recognized as Defensive Player of the Week.
Howard had a strong week for the Lynx, helping the squad go 1-1, including a victory over NAC West Division leader SUNY Delhi last Friday. In Lesley's two games, the senior forward scored a total 39 points (19.5 ppg), snagged 18 rebounds (9.0 rpg), swatted four shots (2.0 bpg), and swiped two steals in the two-game stretch.
In last Friday's 78-61 win versus SUNY Delhi, Howard was all over the floor defensively as he finished with nine rebounds and also swatted away two shots. He also chipped in offensively too by finishing with 22 points on the night. It marked the seventh time he has scored 20 or more points in a game this year.
Howard then followed up his strong outing in a hard-fought game against SUNY Delhi with another nine-rebound performance. He has now brought down at least nine rebounds in eight contests this year. Offensively, Howard finished with 17 points on 6-12 shooting. But what highlighted his performance that day was with 11:20 left to play, Howard scored his 1,000th career point on a driving layup.
Lesley will have its regular-season finale versus VTSU Lyndon on Tuesday, February 11, at 7:30 p.m.