College Basketball Legend Clarence ‘Bevo’ Francis Dies At Age 82

One of the greatest scorers in college basketball history has passed away. Clarence “Bevo” Francis, who famously scored 113 points in a game in 1954, died on Wednesday at the age of 82. According to the University of Rio Grande—Francis’ alma mater—he passed away in his home after a lengthy illness.

His 113-point outing was the NCAA record for the most points scored by one player in a single game for 58 years, when it was broken by Jack Taylor of Grinnell College’s 138-point performance.

From the L.A. Times:

Clarence “Bevo” Francis, who scored 113 points for a small Ohio college in a 1954 game and was one of college basketball’s great scorers, has died. He was 82.

 

Francis died Wednesday at his southern Ohio home after a lengthy illness, the University of Rio Grande announced on its website.

 

Francis’ landmark game came against Michigan’s Hillsdale College on Feb. 2, 1954, and put tiny Rio Grande College on the map. The school in southeastern Ohio, now called the University of Rio Grande, had less than 100 students at the time.

 

“Bevo’s legacy, at least in part, is that dedication, determination and heart can change the world,” Michelle Johnston, the university president, said on the school’s website. Francis’ exploits “charted a course for our institution that led us out of a sea of challenges toward a positive future.”

 

A year earlier, the 6-feet-9 center scored 116 points against Kentucky’s Ashland Junior College, a record that was retroactively erased after the NCAA said it would recognize only games played against four-year, degree-granting institutions.