Chamberlain's 100 points not so rare at high school level

Twenty high school basketball players have scored over 100 points in a game, topped by Danny Heater's 135 in 1960.

Wilt Chamberlain made history 48 years ago this week when he scored 100 points in a single NBA game. The feat is considered one of the most unbreakable records in the NBA and no player has come within 19 points of Chamberlain’s remarkable feat.

Wilt Chamberlain in 1960.

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However, 100 points in a game is certainly not a unique achievement in high school basketball. In fact, 20 players have broken the century mark, ranging from Danny Heater’s all-time mark of 135 points for Burnsville High in West Virginia in 1960 to the most recent effort, Tigran Grigorian’s 100-point outing in 2003 for Mesrobian (Pico Rivera, Calif.).

The first 100-point game occurred way back in 1913 when Herman “Buzz” Saygar scored 113 points in a 154-10 win for Culver (Ind.) over Winamic. Saygar scored his points on 56 field goals and a single free throw. Saygar later gained renown in Indiana as a coach and was reportedly one of the first to suggest a 3-point line, way back in 1933, according to Interbasket.net.

Ed Vondra of Brainard, Neb., tossed in 102 points in a game in 1922; however, the next 100-point game did not occur until 1953 when Dick Bogenrife of London (Ohio) broke Saygar’s record with 120 points in a 137-47 win over Canaan. Bogenrife tossed in 52 shots and added 16 free throws in the win.

Wayne Oakley of Hanson, Ky., nearly matched Bogenrife two years later when he tossed in 114 points in a 128-26 win over St. Agnes. Oakley had a hot night shooting as he made 47 of 55 field goals and converted 20 of 24 extra points.

That same season, Morris Dale Mathis of St. Joe, Ark., scored 108 points vs. Witt Springs. The following year in the state of Florida, Dickie Pitts of Wimauma had 103 points, including 34 in the fourth quarter, and Johnny Jones of Oviedo had a 100-point game.

Scoring 100 points practically became an epidemic in the early 1960s as six players achieved the feat over a three-year span, topped by the all-time leader in Heater.

Only 6 feet tall, Heater took 70 shots in the game and made 53 of them. He also attempted 41 free throws and made 29 while grabbing 32 rebounds. Amazingly, Heater nearly had a triple-double as he finished three assists short of the feat. Heater’s Burnsville team whipped Widen 173-43 on Jan. 26, 1960.

Heater set his mark just four days after Pete Cimino of Bristol (Pa.) scored 114 points in a 134-86 win over Palisades. The 6-2 forward sank 44 field goals and 26 free throws for his total. Cimino went on to a four-year stint as a pitcher in the Major Leagues with the Angels and the Twins.

Nearly one year later, in nearby Norcom (Portsmouth, Va.), John Morris nearly bettered Heater’s record with a 127-point effort in a 173-47 win over Mary Smith. Morris’ outing was the last of four 100-point outings that all occurred in the south within 40 days of each other.

Danny Boyd of Camden, Tenn., opened the 100-point spree with 104 points in a 130-43 win over Clarksburg on Jan. 6, 1961. Four days later, Ken Robinson of Midway Cassatt scored 108 in a 130-30 win over Ruby South in South Carolina. Robinson scored 62 of his points in the second half.

On Jan. 24, 1961, Wayne Coward of J.C. Lynch tossed in 80 points in the second half alone to finish with 100 points in a 139-31 win over Britton’s Neck in South Carolina. Nine years later, the nation’s all-time leading scorer added his name to the list of 100-point players.

Greg Procell of tiny Ebarb (Noble, La.) scored 100 in a 139-79 win over Elizabeth. Procell scored an incredible 3,173 points that season and finished his career with a whopping 6,702 points – nearly 1,400 points more than the second all-time leading scorer in national history.

Benny Fuller of Little Rock School for the Deaf had 102 points in a 133-58 win over Leola on Jan. 20, 1971 and then there was another eight-year drought until Kenneth Johnson of Grandfield scored 71 points in the first half against Terral and finished with 105 points in a 120-65 win. Johnson attempted 85 shots in the game and made 45.

Nearly 10 years passed before the next player hit triple digits. Brian Payne of New Port Richey Christian scored 103 of his team’s 111 points in a 111-60 win over Clearwater St. Paul in 1988.

It took nearly 13 years before Dajuan Wagner of Camden (N.J.) became the next player to score 100 points, and incredibly, it wasn’t even the best 100-point performance that day. Wagner, who is the son of former Los Angeles Laker Milt Wagner, was a first-round draft choice by the Cleveland Cavaliers after a one-year stop at Memphis. Wagner was the Naismith Prep Player of the Year in 2001 and had his career cut short by health problems.

Wagner averaged 42.5 points his senior year and had 3,462 for his career. Highlights of his 100-point game can be found here.

However, only a few hours after Wagner’s Camden team defeated Camden County Vo-Tech-Gloucester Township 157-67, Cedrick Hensley of Heritage Christian (Cleveland, Texas) was leading his team to a 178-28 win over Banff (Houston) with a 101-point effort. Hensley went on to a modest college career at the University of Houston before embarking on a professional career overseas.

The final 100-point game happed on Feb. 11, 2003 when Grigorian led Pico Rivera Mesrobian to a 114-47 win over L.A. Pacific Christian. The sharpshooter became the first Californian to ever score 100 points thanks in part to 11 3-pointers.

Ironically, Chamberlain never scored 100 points in a high school game, but he did come close. As a senior at Overbrook High School in 1956, Chamberlain scored 90 points in a 123-21 win over Roxborough.