Jack Taylor, a sophomore at Division III Grinnell College in Iowa, set an NCAA record by scoring 138 points in a single game during his team’s 179-104 win over Faith Baptist Bible College on Tuesday.
Taylor went 52-108 (.481%) including 27-71 on three-pointers (.380) and 7-10 from the free throw line to register his 138 points. Taylor’s 138 points broke the previous record set by Bevo Francis of Rio Grande, who had 113 points in 1954.
Taylor entered the game 11/41 (.268%) from the field in two games, averaging 23.5 points. The big burst boosted his scoring average to 61.7 ppg, which by our calculations, puts him first in the country.
Taylor’s 108 shots were 23 more than any D-I team has taken this season.
The 5’10” sophomore from Black River Falls, Wis., began a mini-media tour after the game. He joined ESPN’s SportsCenter to give the back story on the record-setting night.
“We played in a tournament last weekend and I hadn’t shot the ball very well, so coming into the game tonight it was a focus of my team to try to get me going offensively before we get into conference play. I started hitting my shots, and we just kind of rode the wave,” he told ESPN’s Jonathan Coachman.
Taylor was asked at what point his teammates started feeding him the ball.
“It was actually at halftime — I thought I only had about 30 points at halftime — but coach came in and told me I had 58, and the team was really excited about that and wanted to continue getting me the ball.”
He also said his teammates encouraged going for the record and weren’t the least bit resentful.
“I was really surprised. They were very unselfish and very happy. I can’t be more thankful for my teammates.
“Our philosophy is to keep the offensive pace up and to wear the other team down by throwing waves of players at them.”
The 138 points topped teammate Griffin Lentsch’s previous school record of 89 points in a game, which was set last year. Taylor said the closest he ever came to this total was a 48-point game he had in high school.
Here’s a look at the final scoreboard at Grinnell (courtesy of Mike Hlas):
The scoreboard at Grinnell tonight: twitter.com/1andonlySMP/st…
— Mike Hlas (@Hlas) November 21, 2012
The 138-point performance by Taylor had a ripple effect throughout the NBA. Several players chimed in on the spectacular game.
Jack Taylor you deserve a shot of Jack Daniels after that performance lol…wow
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) November 21, 2012
138 pts!!! That’s crazy!!!
— demarcus cousins(@boogiecousins) November 21, 2012
I wanna knw who was guarding him!!!
— demarcus cousins(@boogiecousins) November 21, 2012
“His elbow has got to be sore,” New York Knicks guard Raymond Felton said.
And via Mike Hlas, here’s a look at Grinnell’s boxscore from the game:
You can read more about Jack Taylor on his profile at Grinnell’s website.
