During Coppin State's three-year domination of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, senior forward Stephen Stewart has been one of the Eagles' more dependable forces.
Yesterday, the conference rewarded Stewart for his consistency. For the second straight season, Stewart was named MEAC Player of the Year.
Stephen joins his older brother, Larry -- now a member of the Washington Bullets -- as the only Coppin State players to win the award, and win it twice. Larry Stewart was MEAC Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991.
"He [Stephen] is a great player," Coppin State coach Fang Mitchell said. "He's like a point forward, and he's rebounded the ball better than he has in the past. He's helped us at times when our offense has been sluggish. He's been that same force inside for us."
Using his strength and power moves in the post, along with his three-point shooting touch, the 6-foot-6, 235-pound Stewart has been one of the league's better in side-outside threats. He is a huge reason Coppin State has a 46-1 regular-season record against the conference over the past three seasons.
In 23 games this year, Stewart has averaged 15.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and has shot 75.2 percent at the free-throw line. In 14 games against the MEAC, he has averaged 15.6 points and 7.9 rebounds, both team-highs. His 118 free throws and 157 free-throw attempts are conference bests.
Stewart's teammate, senior guard Sidney Goodman, also was named to the All-MEAC first team for the second straight year.
Coppin State's Rene Doctor, a 6-2 senior center who leads the nation with 13.8 rebounds a game, made the women's All-MEAC first team.