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November 2006 |
Past Reports: October; BBL Cup; BBL Trophy;
26-11-06
Sheffield Sharks enjoyed a double success this weekend to extend their lead at the top of the BBL Championship table to six points. A 73-63 victory over the Chester Jets at the EIS, Sheffield on Friday night was followed up by an 87-70 victory over the defending BBL Champions, the Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles at the Metro Radio Arena on Sunday evening. Star man for the Sharks was Jeff Bonds who netted 40 points over the two games.
Double victories also played their parts in the race for second place in the table, as both MIlton Keynes Lions and the Kularoos Plymouth Raiders moved into contention. The Lions followed up their 84-70 victory over the DMU Leicester Riders at the Bletchley Leisure Centre on Friday night with a 92-83 victory over the Chester Jets at the Northgate Arena on Sunday evening, while the Raiders enjoyed an 85- 71 victory over the Leicester Riders at the John Sanford Centre on Saturday night and an 87-78 defeat of the Worcester Wolves at the Plymouth Pavilions on Sunday evening.
In other BBL Championship action, the Eagles picked up a 93-73 victory over London United at the SPACE Centre on Saturday evening, while Guildford Heat kept up their challenge on the title with a comfortable 91-72 victory over the Worcester Wolves at Worcester University on Saturday evening.
Chester Jets 83
(15,35,66) (Hargrow 29, Cowan/Virgil 22)
Milton Keynes Lions 92 (17,44,64) (Brown 23, Jamison 21, Windless 16)
Milton Keynes Lions leapfrogged over the Kularoos Plymouth Raiders into second
place in the BBL Championship table after a 92-83 victory over the Chester
Jets at the Northgate Arena on Sunday evening.
After a tight opening period, the Lions opened up a 33-27 midway through the
second period thanks to eight points from Terrell Brown, and they held the
lead at 44-35 going into half-time. The second half saw the Jets opening the
third quarter with a 12-1 burst to take the lead at 47-45. The lead changed
hands numerous times during the rest of the period, but it was the Jets who
held the slender 66-64 lead going into the final stanza. In the final quarter,
the Lions got their noses in front with a 7-0 run to lead 75-68, but the Jets
replied instantly with 6 unanswered points of their own to trail by a single
point at 74-75. However, the Lions broke the game open with another 7-0 tear
to lead 82-74 with 4 minutes remaining in the game. Despite a Jets rally
towards the end, they could not close the deficit enough as the Lions returned
to Milton Keynes with the all important victory. Brown led the Lions scoring
with 23 points, but it was Maurice Hargrow who led all scorers netting an
impressive 29 points for the Jets.
Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles 70 (11,26,43) (Robinson 23, Babalola 14,
Flournoy 13)
Sheffield Sharks
87 (19,44,70) (Shelton 22, Cage 21, Bonds 15)
Sheffield Sharks extended their lead at the summit of the BBL Championship
table thanks to a comfortable 87-70 victory over defending BBL Champions
Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles at the Metro Radio Arena on Sunday evening.
The Sharks started the stronger, and a 13-0 run in the second period took their lead out to eighteen points at 38-20 midway through the period.
The second half saw the visitors continue to stretch their lead in the third quarter outscoring their opponents 24-17 to lead by twenty-seven points at 70-43 going into the final stanza.
The final quarter saw the Eagles attempt to claw their way back into the game, and enjoyed a 10- 0 burst to trim the deficit back to fourteen points at 58-72, but it was all to no avail as the Sharks ran out comfortable winners.
Blake Shelton led the Sharks scorers netting 22 points for the visitors, but
it was Shawan Robinson who led all scorers in the game bagging 23 points for
the Eagles.
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 87 (28,56,67) (Aaron 23, Moore 22, Love 15)
Worcester Wolves
78 (24,36,59) (Sheard/Harper 21, Perkes 15)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders moved into second place in the BBL Championship table thanks to an 87-78 victory over the Worcester Wolves at the Plymouth Pavilions on Sunday evening.
After a close opening quarter, the Raiders took the initiative in the second period outscoring their opponents 28-11 to lead 56- 36 at the half. The second half saw the visitors claw their way back into the game in the third quarter to trim the deficit to eight points off the back of a 23- 11 quarter score to trail 59-67 going into the final stanza, The Raiders managed to hold off the visitors challenge in the final period, and thanks to cool shooting from the foul line by Gavin Love and Carlton Aaron, the Raiders held on for the all-important victory. Aaron led all scorers in the game with 23 points personal for the Raiders, while Worcester's scoring was led by Soloman Sheard and Andy Harper with 21 points each.
25-11-06
Guildford Heat’s impressive season continued last night as they moved back into second place in the BBL thanks to a 92-72 win at bottom place Worcester Wolves.
San Wardrope led the scoring for Heat who now trail league leaders Sheffield Sharks by four points. Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles broke a tie for sixth place by beating London United 93-73 on the road to move fifth.
And Kularoos Plymouth Raiders consolidated in fourth with an 85-71 victory over eighth placed DMU Leicester Riders.
Worcester Wolves 72 (19,38,50) (Perkes 19, Harper 17, Urbonavicius 9)
Guildford Heat 92 (23,56,76) (Wardrope 18, Martin 17,
Gilbert/Dux 14)
Guildford Heat slipped effortlessly back into second place with a comfy 92-72 win at Worcester Wolves.
It is the Wolves ninth consecutive defeat in all competitions and leaves the BBL new boys rooted to the bottom of the table. Heat on the other hand are four points behind leaders Sheffield Sharks but with three matches in hand.
Worcester led 14-13 early in the game but once Guildford had established a 23-19 first quarter lead there was no way back. A 16-4 run in the second period broke the match open for the visitors on their way to a 56-38 half time advantage.
The second half was a demonstration of how to maintain a healthy lead and
despite the Wolves fighting hard there was no way back.
BBL Championship
London United
73 (16,31,45) (Johnson 21, Perre 19, Haslam 12)
Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles 93 (15,43,68) (Robinson 28, Defoe 16, Walker
12)
Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles broke a tie for sixth place in the league with London United by beating them 93-73 in the capital.
United edged a tight first quarter 16-15 and still led 20-18 early in the second period before a 17-0 run by the Eagles, which included two threes by Andrew Bridge and one by player/coach Fab Flournoy broke the game open 35-20.
London got it back to 24-35 but that was as close as they would get as Newcastle
went in at half time 43- 31 up and extended that to 68-45 at three-quarter time.
Eagles’ Shawan Robinson led all scorers with 28 and Tarick Johnson hot 21 for
United.
BBL Championship
DMU Leicester Riders 71 (21,40,56) (Alleyne
18, Williams 15, Myers 11)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 85 (21,43,62) (Beasley 22, Aaron 14, Gall 13)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders closed the gap on league leaders Sheffield Sharks after a superb 85-71 road win at DMU Leicester Riders.
The Raiders are still in fourth but level on points with Guildford Heat and Milton Keynes in second and third respectively. Leicester’s dismal run continues and they remain eighth.
After an even first quarter, which finished 21-21, the Raiders began to take control. At half time the score was 43-40 in their favour and there was more to come after the interval.
Alistair Gall hit a three and Andrew Lasker notched five-points as the visitors went 62-56 in front with ten minutes remaining. Riders were hampered by the loss of point-guard Rob Paternostro with an ankle injury during the third quarter.
In the final stanza Plymouth continued to pull away with the help of a couple of Leicester technical fouls. DeAntoine Beasley led the Raiders scoring with a game-high 22.
24-11-06
The Sheffield Sharks maintained their four point lead at the head of the BBL Championship table with a 76-63 defeat of the Chester Jets.
The Milton Keynes Lions kept up the chase as they won 84-70 against the DMU Leicester Riders, Molten Player of the Month Tony Windless led the scoring with 19 points.
Milton Keynes Lions 84 (22,46,61) (Windless 19, Griffin 16, Brown
16)
DMU Leicester Riders 70 (10,29,50) (Myers 18, Williams 14, Herriman)
The Milton Keynes Lions moved clear in second place in the BBL Championship with a convincing 84-70 victory over the DMU Leicester Riders, thus bouncing back from their first defeat on their home floor last week.
The Lions opened with the first four points of the game but a Delme Herriman three-pointer capped a 5 point response from the visitors to give them their only lead of the game at 4-5. Terrell Brown then sparked a 14-2 burst with back-to-back triples as the Lions posted a 22-10 first quarter.
A further trio of three-pointers blew the game open as a 15-4 surge gave the Lions a 21 point lead. Andrew Alleyne scored the last basket of the half for the Riders with the Sharks leading 46-29.
The visitors staged a comeback in the third frame as a 16-5 response brought them back within striking distance at 51-45. However, that run was halted by treys from Brown and Robert Youngblood as the Lions pushed it back out to 11 points at 61-50 going into the decisive stanza.
A barrage of threes effectively settled the game as the lead reached 79-57 and a strong finish from the Riders wasn't enough.
Tony Windless continued his return from injury with 19 points, with Kevin
Griffin and Terrell Brown netting 16 each. Shawn Myers scored 18 and snatched 13
rebounds for Leicester.
Sheffield Sharks 73 (26,46,61) (Bonds 25, Lyons 14, Cauthorn 13)
Chester Jets 63 (23,38,54) (Cowan 21, Virgil 18,
Robinson 10)
The Sheffield Sharks maintained their cushion at the top of the BBL
Championship as they extended their winning streak to seven games with a 73-63
defeat of the Chester Jets.
A typically physical game between these two sides was tight all the way through. The Sharks took a narrow 26-23 lead into the first quarter break but managed to stretch that to 46-38 by the half.
The Jets came out from the locker room with an 11-4 burst and a pair of Jaz Cowan free-throws made it a one-point game at 50-49. The home side's response was startling as they rattled of an 11-2 burst, including five from Cauthorn, to lead by double digits at 61-51.
Courtesy of a Maurice Hargrow score the Jets narrowed the deficit to four in the final period at 63-59 but the Sharks finished strongly with ten of the last fourteen points to secure their seventh consecutive win.
Jeff Bonds continued his fine form with 25 points on the night, supported ably by 14 from Atiba Lyons and 13 from Todd Cauthorn.
19-11-06
With the focus turning back to the BBL Championship over the weekend, the Sheffield Sharks have put daylight between themselves and the chasing pack at the summit of the table.
Peter Scantlebury's men scored two vital victories over two of the league's form teams. On Sunday they overcame the second placed Milton Keynes Lions 60-66 in a low scoring affair. After taking a commanding lead the Sharks were pegged back in the fourth, only for veteran forward Todd Cauthorn to hold his nerve at the charity stripe late in the game, he had 12 points on the night.
Prior to that, on Friday, the Sharks beat the Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks impressively, 95-75, at the EIS, largely thanks to 22 points from Jeff Bonds. Sheffield have now won four consecutive games in the Championship and are unbeaten in November in all competitions.
The Rocks recovered from that defeat at the Braehead Arena on Sunday as they ran out 103-71 victors over the Chester Jets. Maurice Hampton scored a personal high 29 points in a second half demolision in which the Rocks outscored their visitors by 57-24.
In another clash between two form teams, the Kularoos Plymouth Raiders halted the Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles' five game winning streak despite the debut of Tony Dorsey for the Tynesiders. The Raiders won 81-75 on Sunday after a mammoth 18 points and 20 rebounds from Carlton Aaron.
Elsewhere over the weekend, the Guildford Heat moved into second with a 106-93 defeat of London United. Point guard Brian Dux scored 23 points for the Heat, who took an early lead and never looked back.
Finally, the DMU Leicester Riders ended their poor run of form as a 62-84 defeat of the Worcester Wolves saw Karl Brown's side put a run of five consecutive losses behind them.
Milton Keynes Lions 60 (15,22,41) (Windless 23, Brown 14, New 8)
Sheffield Sharks 66 (13,31,50) (Bonds 12, Cauthorn 12,
Shelton 11)
The Sheffield Sharks moved further clear at the top of the BBL Championship table on Sunday evening as they defeated the second placed Milton Keynes Lions 60-66 at Bletchley.
An early 7 unanswered points helped the visiting Sharks into a 7-11 lead before Tony Windless, on his first game back from injury, started and finished an 8-2 run with three-pointers, taking the teams in at 15-13.
Terrell Brown opened the scroing in the second frame before a scintilating 18-1 surge from the Sharks helped them to a commanding 22-31 half-time advantage.
The home side managed to stem the flow after the break as Michael New made 6 conscutive points, but a flurry of triples at the end of the quarter maintained Sheffield's edge at 41-50.
The Sharks opened the decisive stanza with a 5-2 burst before the Lions came storming back. A Ronnie Baker layup, a pair of Windless threes and a Terrell Brown trey brought them back to within one at 54-55.
The visitors managed to restore the advantage at 57-62 but a long three from Dru Spinks kept the game alive. However, Todd Cauthorn managed to seal the game from the foul line with 12 seconds remaining.
Windless led all scorers with 23 points. The Sharks spread the scoring around
and had Cauthorn and Bonds on 12, with Shelton netting 11.
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders
81 (16,37,55) (Aaron 18, Love 17, Moore 17)
Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles 75 (16,26,55) (Robinson 18, Bridge 15,
Flournoy 13)
The Kularoos Plymouth Raiders won their fourth consecutive BBL Championship game as they knocked off the reigning champion Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles 81-75 at the Plymouth Pavilions.
After trading baskets in the early stages the teams finished the first ten minutes tied at 16. In the second quarter the Raiders restricted their visitors to just 10 points as they moved out to a 37-26 half-time advantage.
However, after the break Fab Flournoy's men reversed that with 29 third quarter points to knot the teams again at 55 and set up an exciting final stanza.
The Raiders gained the advantage early in the fourth with an old fashioned three-point play from Gaylon Moore and started to make their move with 7:45 remaining and the teams tied at 60. The Raiders posted a 12-4 burst, including 4 points from Allister Gall and capped with a DeAntoine Beasley triple, to lead 72-64.
However, the Eagles weren't done and on a Shawan Robinson deuce they had it back down to a one possession game at 76-73 with 24 seconds remaining. The Raiders held on as Gall netted two points and with 8.8 seconds left Andrew Lasker stole the ball and scored to seal the win.
Carlton Aaron had an outstanding night for the home team with 18 points and 20
rebounds. Meanwhile Robinson also had 18 for Newcastle and Tony Dorsey marked
his debut with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds in almost 21
minutes.
Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks 103 (26,46,76) (Hampton 29, Joseph 20, Yanders
20)
Chester Jets
71 (22,47,60) (Cowan 21, Hargrow 17, Hamilton 14)
The Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks recovered from Friday night's defeat to score a resounding 103-71 victory over the Chester Jets and jump to fifth place in the BBL Championship in the process.
A tight first half was concluded with a Billy Singleton score and a buzzer-beating three from Jaz Cowan to see the Jets actually lead 46-47 at the break.
However, the Rocks won the second half by 57-24, starting with a 9-0 burst that gave them a 63-51 lead early in the third. Chester weren't helped by foul trouble as Terrence Robinson left the game in the third stanza, followed by Billy Singleton and Alto Virgil in the fourth.
Maurice Hampton led the scoring with 29 points for the Rocks, whilst Julius Joseph and Rob Yanders contributed 20 points each. Cowan scored 18 points in the first half on his way to a team-leading 21 points personal.
18-11-06
Twenty-three points by Guildford Heat’s Brian Dux paced his team to a 106-93 home win against London United on Saturday night. The victory sees Heat join Milton Keynes Lions in second place in the BBL two points behind leaders Sheffield Sharks.
In the night’s other match DMU Leicester Riders piled on the misery for bottom placed Worcester Wolves. The Riders came away from Worcester with an 84-62 win.
Guildford Heat 106 (29,50,78) (Dux 23, Martin 16, Gilbert 16)
London United 93 (14,36,55) (Perre 24, Knight 19, Johnson 15)
Guildford Heat moved into a tie of second place in the BBL last night at the Spectrum after a convincing 106-93 win against London United.
The Heat never looked back after a 15-4 run in the first quarter had opened up a 22-9 lead. By the end of the period Paul James’ side was well in control at 29-14.
United rallied in the second quarter with runs of 9-4 and 8-2, which closed the gap to 45-34 but Heat finished the half with a 5-2 burst of their own to lead 50-36 at the interval.
And when the home team started the second half with a 12-4 run to take the score
to 62-40 the match was all but over. United worked hard in the final quarter to
get back to 99-90 down with just over a minute on the clock, but it was too late
for a fightback and means the capital’s club is now sixth in the table.
Worcester Wolves 62 (19,36,45) (Perkes 20,
Harper 13, Urbonavicius 6)
DMU Leicester Riders 84 (22,39,59) (Williams 23, Myers 22, Alleyne 16)
Worcester Wolves’ poor start to the season continued on Saturday night as they fell at home to eighth placed DMU Leicester Riders.
The Wolves held their own through the first quarter as no less then seven different Worcester players found the hoop. Riders, though, still came out on top 22-19.
The lead was still three (36-39) at half time as the Wolves battled bravely to stay in contention. However, after the interval it was a different story as the Riders’ experience began to show.
A 20-9 quarter by Karl Brown’s team blew the match open and from then on there was no way back for the Wolves. Yorick Williams led the scoring for Leicester with a game high total of 23.
17-11-06
Sheffield Sharks
95 (23,47,71) (Bonds 22, Lyons 18, Cage 17)
Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks 75 (18,43,53) (Joseph 21, Yanders 15, Wohlers 12)
S
heffied Sharks leapfrogged over the Milton Keynes Lions at the top of the BBL Championship after a convincing 95-75 victory over the Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks at the EIS, Sheffield on Friday evening.The Sharks started the stronger opening up an early 21-11 lead, but the Rocks came back strong with a 14-4 cross-quarter run to level the score up at 25- 25 at the start of the second period.
The Sharks responded again with a 16-7 burst to lead 41-32, but a Rocks 6-0 tear trimmed the deficit to three points at 41-38 with two minutes left in the half.
The second half saw the sides trade baskets at the opening minutes before the Sharks broke the game open with a 14-3 run to close out the third quarter leading 71-53.
The Sharks maintained their composure in the final quarter and despite a late Rocks rally, they were able to run out comfortable winners.
Jeff Bonds led all scorers in the game netting 22 points for the Sharks, while Julius Joseph led the Rocks scoring with 21 points personal.
12-11-06
London United 69 (16, 29, 51) (Johnson 23, Haslam 12, Knight 11)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 71 (19, 29, 47) (Moore 20, Lasker 20, Aaron 17)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders moved into a tie of fourth spot in the league with Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles and London United after beating United in the capital on Sunday evening.
The match was tight throughout as neither side could put together run long enough to break away from the other. In the end the decisive burst came deep in the fourth quarter as the Raiders turned a 58- 61 deficit into a 65-61 lead.
Despite two threes by Chris Haslem, United wouldn’t lead again and it was left to Andrew Lasker to seal the match from the free throw line in the closing seconds. The win is Raiders third consecutive in the league, while United have now lost five of their last six in all competitions.
11-11-06
DMU Leicester Riders 72 (21,51,57) (Myers 18, Williams 16, Lamble 11)
Chester Jets
83 (27,45,68) (Cowan/Hargrow 19, Hamilton/Robinson 13)
Chester Jets picked up their second win of their BBL Championship campaign thanks to an 83-72 victory over the DMU Leicester Riders at the John Sanford Centre on Saturday evening.
Chester started the stronger and opened up an 19- 13 lead off the back of an 11-5 run midway through the opening period. However the Riders responded in the second quarter, and with the help of Yorrick Williams and new man Shawn Myers, making his home debut, they retook the lead at 38-33 off a 14-2 tear midway through the period.
The second half saw the Jets come out strong, and rattled off 13 unanswered points at the start of the half to lead 58-51, and restricting the home side to just six points in the whole quarter. In the final stanza, a Riders 12-2 burst saw them trail by a single point at 69-70 with three minutes remaining, but a Maurice Hargrow 'three' sparked an immediate 7-0 response to lead 77-69 with 2:20 left in the game. The Riders got to within five points at 72-77, but the Jets sealed the victory from the foul-line.
A combination of Jaz Cowan and Hargrow led the scorers in the game netting 19 points each for the Jets, while home debutant Myers led the Riders scoring with 18 points personal.
05-11-06
Sheffield Sharks joined the Milton Keynes Lions on the top of the BBL Championship table after picking consecutive victories over the weekend. A 99-70 victory over the Worcester Wolves at the EIS, Sheffield on Friday evening was followed up by an 87- 69 victory over the Chester Jets at the Northgate Arena on Sunday evening. The star man for the Sharks in Sunday's action was Jeff Bonds who bagged 18 points for Sheffield in the game against the Jets.
Other Championship action saw the Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks move into sixth place in the Championship standings after a comfortable 109-69 victory over the Wolves at the Braehead Arena on Sunday evening.
Chester Jets 69 (18,32,52) (Hargrew 24, Cowan
22, Hamilton 8)
Sheffield Sharks 87 (20,49,61) (Bonds 18, Cauthorn 15, Burns 14)
Sheffield Sharks joined the Milton Keynes Lions at the top of the BBL Championship table thanks to a convincing 87-69 victory over the Chester Jets at the Northgate Arena on Sunday evening.
After a close first quarter, the visitors lept into the lead on the stroke of half-time off the back of a 9-0 burst to take the score out to 49-32 going into the second half.
The second half saw the home side trim the deficit to eight points at the start of the third period off the back of an 11-2 run, but an 8-0 start to the final quarter for the Sharks saw the score go out to 69-52.
Despite a late Jets rally to get back to fourteen points at 74-60, the Sharks
stayed strong and recorded the all important victory. Jeff Bonds led the
Sharks scoring with 18 points, but it was Maurice Hargrow who led all scorers
in the game bagging 24 points personal for the Jets.
Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks 109 (31,61,90) (Yanders 23, Davis 20, Sterk
18)
Worcester Wolves
69 (20,41,53) (Gayle 17, Potts 11, Urbonavicius 9)
Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks got their BBL Championship season back on track thanks to a comfortable 109-69 victory over bottom club Worcester Wolves at the Braehead Arena on Sunday evening.
It was the visitors who started the stronger, and lead 14-10 early on, but the Rocks replied with 13-0 burst to lead 23-14 midway through the opening period.
The Rocks never trailed again in the game, and continued to increase the margin with runs of 11-2 and 9-2 in the second period to lead 61- 41 at the half.
The second half continued in much the same vein with the Rocks hitting a 12-0 tear midway through the third to lead 77-45.
In the final quarter, the home side enjoyed their biggest lead of the game at forty-five points with the score at 100- 55. The Wolves closed the game out with a 14-5 burst of their own, but the deficit was too much to close as the Rocks eventually ran out comfortable winners.
Rob Yanders led all scorers in the game netting 23 points for the Rocks, while Michael Gayle led the Wolves scoring with 17.
03-11-06
Sheffield Sharks 99 (23,51,78) (Bonds 24, Cauthorn 16, Shelton
15)
Worcester Wolves 70 (18,31,52) (Potts 20, Perkes 13, Urbonavicius 11)
The Sheffield Sharks took a share of third spot in the BBL Championship with their third win in four games, beating the Worcester Wolves 99-70 at the EIS, Sheffield.
The Sharks raced into an early lead and a pair of Eddie Cage free-throws put them up 20-7 in the first quarter. Yet the Wolves narrowed the gap as an 11-3 close made it 23-18 at the first break.
After Michael Gayle scored the opening bucket of the second frame, Sheffield took control. They posted an 12-4 run to lead 35-24 and then Jeff Bonds (7) and Todd Cauthorn (6) combined for a 16-3 finish to the half, by which time the Sharks were in charge at 51-31.
They maintained that lead at around 20 points, the Wolves did get it down at 55-39 but the home side pushed it out again and finished the third quarter with a 15-5 burst to lead 78-52.
The lead reached it's peak at 95-60 in the closing stages before a strong finish from the visitors, who remain rooted to the foot of the table.
Jeff Bonds led all scorers with 24 points, whilst Ben Potts led the Wolves for
the first time this season with 20 points.