With his team taking a triumphant win in overtime over league dominators Mackay, Todd Blanchfield from the Townsville Heat takes out this week’s men’s Player of the Week award – for his haul of 38 points against his former team. Blanchfield shot at 66.7 percent in the field and hit five out of 11 three pointers, in addition to taking 12 rebounds, two steals, five assists and one block. The Heat led for much of the first three quarter, enjoying an 18-point lead at half-time and going into the final quarter 15 points ahead. But the Meteors fought back, and brought the margin back thanks to a string of three-pointers from former Heat player Michael Cedar, eventually forcing the game into overtime. The intensity did not subside in the final stanza, with Townsville pulling away to a six point lead with under three minutes to go, yet Mackay continued to chip away at the margin, nearly forcing a second over-time in the last 10 seconds with a shot from Braydon Hobbs, yet it did not fall thus giving the Heat the win. Blanchfield shot 14 points in the opening quarter to help set up the Heat’s lead, and put in eight points during the last five minutes in overtime. It was Mackay’s second defeat of the weekend after succumbing to Cairns the previous night, and just their third of the season. This is Blanchfield’s second Player of the Week award this season, earning the title in Round 3 due to his contribution in the Heat’s remarkable come-from-behind win over Ipswich, with Blanchfield scoring 11 of Townsville’s 15 unanswered points in the final minutes, on the end of a double-header round – top scoring in the weekend’s previous victory over Toowoomba. It’s the forward’s second season with Townsville, currently sitting on an average of 20.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. The 21-year-old moved to the Heat after three seasons with his home team the Mackay Meteors, where he averaged 18.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in his final season with them in 2010. His strong performances with the Meteors earned him a spot as a development player with the Townsville Crocodiles, seeing him join the NBL side for the 2009/2010 season, with the club this year extending his contract for a further three seasons. Blanchfield’s average points per game in the NBL improved during the 2011/2012 season to 7.2 points per game, up on his 2011 average of 2.6. This year Blanchfield was selected alongside Townsville Heat and Crocodiles team-mate Mitch Norton for the Future Boomers side, which toured China earlier this month for the Stankovic Cup. A former AIS Scholarship holder, he has also played for the Australian U19 Squad and Australian Schoolboys team, as well as the Under 16 and Under 18 Queensland North teams. Blanchfield was also named in the QBL All-League team in 2011.