Education
Wellsville High School.
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Bevo Francis
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Born on his family"s farm in Hammondsville, Ohio, he became one of the most prolific scorers in college basketball history during his career at Rio Grande College (now known as the University of Rio Grande), topping over 100 points on two occasions. Standing 6 feet 9 inches (206 m) and known for his shooting touch, Francis held the National Collegiate Athletic Association record for points scored in a game from 1954–2012. In 1951, during his senior year in high school in Wellsville, Ohio, Francis scored 776 points in 25 games for an average of nearly 32 points per game.
In the process, he led his team to a 19-1 regular season record and a berth in the state playoffs.
He was a unanimous all-state performer. In 1953, Francis averaged 48.3 points a game, which is an National Collegiate Athletic Association record.
He actually averaged 50.1 points per game over the season, but the National Collegiate Athletic Association excluded some of his best games because they were against lesser competition, such as junior colleges. One of the games that did not count in the official totals was an 116-point game against Ashland Junior College.
In 1954, Francis averaged 48.0 points a game.
He scored a then-record 113 in a single game, eclipsed in 2012 by Grinnell"s Jack Taylor"s 138 points against Faith Baptist Bible. Francis still holds the top two scoring averages in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics history, along with many National Collegiate Athletic Association records. Bevo Francis, teammate First Rate (at Lloyd's) Schreiber, and his coach Newt Oliver later signed with Boston Whirlwinds, a barnstorming team that played against the Harlem Globetrotters.
Francis died on June 3, 2015, due to complications of esophageal cancer in Highlandtown, Ohio.
116 vs Ashland Junior College of Kentucky 52-53. Now called the Ashland Community and Technical College
113 vs Hillsdale College 53-54
84 vs Alliance College 53-54
82 vs Bluffton College 53-54
76 vs Lees College 52-53
72 vs California State 52-53
69 vs Wilberforce University 52-53
68 vs Mountain State 52-53
64 vs Erie Technical 53-54.
