Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Wayland Baptist guard J.J. Culver scored 100 points in a college basketball game against Southwestern Adventist University, becoming the second player in NAIA history to reach the mark.
Culver pulled off the impressive effort in Wayland Baptist's 124-60 win Tuesday at Hutcherson Center in Plainview, Texas. The 6-foot-8 senior from Lubbock, Texas, made 34 of 62 field goal attempts and 12 of 33 attempts from 3-point range. Culver also made 20 of 27 free throws. He added nine rebounds, five steals and two blocks in 38 minutes.
"First, I have to thank God," Culver tweeted after the game. "Second, I couldn't have done this without my coaches and teammates. Definitely a dream come true.
"I put in a lot of work for this. I love playing basketball and thanks everyone for the support."
Culver scored his first basket 12 seconds into the game. He went on to score the Pioneers' first 42 points. He scored the final nine points of the first half to log 51 points at halftime. Culver scored the Pioneers' first five points of the second half and totaled 49 points down the stretch to finish his 100-point effort. He scored his final basket by making a layup with 50 seconds remaining, giving the Pioneers a 61-point lead.
"We always script our first couple of plays, and J.J. scored on the first three or four," Wayland Baptist coach Ty Harrelson told reporters. "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 [Tuesday]."
Culver is the older brother of Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jarrett Culver. He was last year's Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Year and an NAIA First-Team All-American. Culver's effort came 13 points shy of the NAIA record for points in a single game, which Clarence Francis set in 1954 while playing at Rio Grande.
Culver is the first college player to score 100 points since Jack Taylor recorded an NCAA-record 138 points in 2012, while playing at Grinnell College.
Culver's season average improved from 28.1 points per game to 36.1 points per game after the 100-point effort.
