Wayland Baptist’s senior guard J.J. Culver, became the second player in NAIA history to record 100 points in a game vs Southwestern Adventist in Plainfield, Texas, Tuesday. The Pioneers of Wayland Baptist rolled over the Knights 124-60.
This marks the first time an NAIA players has scored 100 or more since 1954 when Clarence “Bevo” Francis of Ohio college Rio Grande, scored 113 points against Hillsdale.
JJ, who hails from Lubbock, Texas, is the older brother of Minnesota Timberwolves rookie guard Jarrett Culver. Jarrett was drafted sixth overall in the 2019 draft and is averaging 9.2 points and 3.4 rebounds through 23 games. Both brothers were conference players of the year last season; JJ in the Sooner Athletic Conference, and Jarrett in the Big 12 representing Texas Tech.
Culver finished the night 34-62 from the field, including 12-33 from the three-point line and 20-27 from the free throw line. Jonathan Robinson was the second leading scorer with 8 points.
“We always script our first couple of plays, and J.J. scored on the first three or four. 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,” Wayland Baptist coach Ty Harrelson said.
Culver is on his way to back-to-back conference player of the year awards, averaging 36.1 points per game 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. 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,” Harrelson said.
