Wayland Baptist guard J.J. Culver had a performance for the ages Tuesday night, becoming just the second player in NAIA history to score at least 100 points in a game.Culver, a 6-foot-5 senior and the older brother of Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Jarrett Culver, reached the magical mark to lead his Pioneers to a 124-60 rout over Southwestern Adventist in Plainview, Texas.He was 34-for-62 from the field, including 12-for-33 from 3-point range, and 20-for-27 from the free throw line. The rest of Culver’s teammates combined to go 8-for-15 from the field and 5-for-6 from the line, while the next-highest scorer on the team was Jonathon Robinson, who finished with eight points.”We always script our first couple of plays, and J.J. scored on the first three or four,” Wayland Baptist coach Ty Harrelson said. “The guys realized he was hot and kept going to him. We figured as long as he’s taking good shots and shots out of our philosophy that he had a chance to do something special tonight.”Clarence “Bevo” Francis of Rio Grande (Ohio) is the only other player in NAIA history to have a 100-point game, scoring an NAIA-record 113 points against Hillsdale in 1954. Only one player in NCAA Division I history has had a 100-point game: Furman’s Frank Selvy scored 100 against Newberry College in 1954.The last college player to score at least 100 was Jack Taylor of Division III’s Grinnell College. He scored an NCAA-record 138 points in 2012, then followed that with a 109-point effort in ’13.Wilt Chamberlain is the only NBA player to score 100 points in a game, reaching the milestone for the Philadelphia Warriors against the New York Knicks in 1962.Culver and his brother, Jarrett, were each named players of the year in their respective leagues last season, J.J. in the Sooner Athletic Conference and Jarrett in the Big 12 while starring at Texas Tech.Jarrett, the No. 6 overall pick of the 2019 draft, is averaging 9.2 points and 3.4 rebounds for the Wolves this season.He reacted to his brother’s memorable night in a tweet later Tuesday.WAIT…. my brother @jj10culver just scored 100 points in a game 🤯 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Somebody tell me I’m not dreaming pic.twitter.com/qhnIEVkVrF— jarrett culver (@jarrettc08) December 11, 2019 The 6-foot-5 J.J., of Lubbock, Texas, is averaging 36.1 points this season.”J.J. has awesome offensive talent to be able to put it in the basket that many times, and I thought our guys did a great job of getting him the ball in places where he could score,” Harrelson said. “He did a great job of reading the defense and getting open.”I’ve coached him really hard for four years, so I’m happy for him and proud of him. It couldn’t happen to a nicer kid and harder worker.”
NAIA guard Culver erupts for 100-point game
