Elijah Pepper, the hot-stepping combo guard for Warwick Senators and son of Shepparton Gators great Ryan Pepper, broke the NBL1 scoring record on Saturday night with a staggering 59-point game.
Suiting up for the Senators against South West Slammers in the NBL1 West, Pepper ran hot with 22 field goals made while also going 6/9 outside of the arc to notch the historic feat.
Remarkably, the record had already been broken earlier this season.
Melbourne Tigers gun Jack Purchase drilled 55 points back in May to beat Joe Cook-Green’s 2023 record by a point — but there was no stopping Pepper from banking his best scoring effort on Saturday.
Having already recorded three 50-plus games for the Senators this season, Pepper was in ferocious form during the 130-79 blitz against the Slammers.
A 14-point fourth quarter helped him snare the all-time points record, finishing with a cash three-pointer from way downtown to put some daylight between his and the previous holder’s best game.
Was Pepper purposely chasing the pinnacle set by Purchase?
At first, no.
But when he was busy letting it fly, one eye on the bucket and the other on the big screen, there was only one thought in Pepper’s head.
“They had a scoreboard there that kept track of all the points, and you could see it going up,” he said.
“I was at like 45 (points), so I saw that and thought if there was a chance to try and go get it (the record), now is the perfect time.
“The way they played defence kind of just fit perfectly.
“They didn’t have a lot of help in the paint, so it was one of those games where you could attack and get going, and then the other shots were falling and it went from there.”
Pepper now leads the league for scoring (36.3 points) and three pointers made (5.6) averages, while also racking up an impressive 7.3 assists and 6.4 rebounds per game this season.
The Senators sit second in the NBL1 West with two rounds remaining, but Pepper will have his sights set on transferring his frightening shooting form into NBL26 with the Perth Wildcats.
Finals are secured for Warwick, and with the pointy end of the season followed by a fresh campaign with the Wildcats, Pepper has a stack of basketball to sink his teeth into.
“We (Warwick) just have to handle business and take care of what we can take care of,” he said.
“If we get a little bit of help from the guys ahead of us that’d be nice, but we’re just focusing on what we’re doing and going from there.
“Part of the reason for (me playing in the) NBL1 was to prepare for the NBL, so I’m looking forward to playing with some of the new guys we’ve picked up, hopefully having a good NBL26 campaign and prepping me for the rest of my career as well.”
