Grinnell College's Jack Taylor scores NCAA record 138 points
Tommy Birch, USA TODAY
"I don't think reality has really set in yet," Taylor said after his historic performance.
1:51AM EST November 21. 2012 - Jack Taylor thought his cold shooting streak from the weekend was spilling over into the week.
Turns out, Taylor was just about to heat up.
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The Grinnell College (Iowa) sophomore guard scored an NCAA-record 138 points during the Pioneers' 179-104 win against Faith Baptist Bible College on Tuesday night.
"I don't think reality has really set in yet," Taylor said after the game. "I think it definitely will in the next few days. I can't really get my mind around it right now."
Taylor, a 5-10, 170-pound guard from Black River Falls, Wisconsin, shot 52-of-108 from the field, 27-of-71 from 3-point range, and 7-of-10 from the free-throw line to finish with the historic, head-shaking line of 138 points.
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The 138 points passed Clarence "Bevo" Francis who held both the NCAA and collegiate scoring mark when he dropped 113 points vs. Hillside in 1954.
"It's kind of a life-changing moment," Grinnell coach David Arseneault said.
By the end of the night, Taylor was the center of attention, not just in Iowa, but throughout country.
"Jack Taylor you deserve a shot of Jack Daniels after that performance lol...wow" Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant tweeted.
While the 138 points drew national attention, the 108 shot attempts equally stood out.
The New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony was stunned when he heard the news after his team's victory over the New Orleans Hornets.
"I never heard of nothing like that. That's like a video game," Anthony said, an incredulous look on his face. "How can you shoot 100 times, though?"
"His elbow has got to be sore," Knicks teammate Raymond Felton joked.
Faith Baptist, located in Ankeny, Iowa, is a member of the Midwest Christian College Conference. The schedule on the school website listed the Grinnell game as an "exhibition." But according to Grinnell sports information director Ted Schultz, the game "absolutely" is official and the record will count. Schultz said because of conference rules on the number of games a team can play, Faith Baptist has to list some as exhibitions. Schultz said Grinnell has encountered this before but did check with its conference, the Midwest, on Tuesday morning to confirm the game counted. "It's an exhibition for them, but not for us," he said.
Taylor's performance overshadowed a 70-point night for David Larsen of Faith Baptist.
Not all were impressed by the feat, however. ESPN's Stuart Scott tweeted: "Not a big fan of Jack Taylor's 138-pts in Grinnell win. He took 108-shots including 71-3's...Just say that out loud. Now say "team"!"
Things didn't start off so hot for Taylor, who missed his first four shots and began worrying his struggles from a weekend tournament had carried over into Tuesday. During the weekend, Taylor combined to shoot just 11-of-41 from the field in a pair of games.
"The coaches and my teammates wanted to get me going tonight," Taylor said.
Once he got going, Taylor never really stopped, scoring 58 points in the first half.
Taylor, who said his previous high was 48 during a high school game, didn't realize how many points he had at the half until Arseneault walked in with the stat sheet.
"I thought I had around 30 points," Taylor said. "And (then) coach came in and said I had 58. That started to make me realize that it could be a special night."
Things really began to sink in during the second half when fans began chanting Taylor's name in the closing minutes.
"I figured I probably had a lot of points at that time," he said.
Arseneault, in his 24th season at Grinnell, has started a scoring revolution with a system of rapid movement, 3-pointer free-for-alls, and substitutions swiftly moving into the game like hockey line shifts.
Grinnell is located off Interstate 80 between Cedar Rapids and Des Moines.
In 2011, Grinnell's Griffin Lentsch set an NCAA Division III single-game scoring record with 89 points in a game against Principia.
The center of attention on Tuesday was getting Taylor, who finished with three rebounds in 36 minutes, back on track. He eventually did.
"He could have thrown it up with one hand and it would have gone in by the end of the game," Arseneault said.
"I am very exhausted," Taylor said.
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