Scoring Record | Purchase goes for 55

Image credit: jcpphotovideo

There is just something that hits different about a shooting big in a Melbourne Tigers uniform and Jack Purchase has set a new NBL1 single game scoring record putting up 55 points on Sunday afternoon.

The 54-point record in the NBL1 around the country was set by Joe Cook-Green when he was playing for the Kalamunda Eastern Suns back in a wild final game of the regular season in 2023 when he achieved the feat against the Cockburn Cougars.

The current Perth Redbacks has been clinging to that record ever since despite some near misses including three 50-point outbursts so far in 2025 by Warwick Senators superstar Elijah Pepper, but on Sunday afternoon to close Round 5, Purchase put on quite the spectacular show.

By the end of the afternoon, Purchase had scored 55 points for the Tigers in the game against the Eltham Wildcats at Montmorency Secondary College on the back of shooting 19/30 from the field, 10/17 from three-point range and 7/8 at the foul line.

Purchase played every second of the 40minute game and also had six rebounds and blocked two shots with the only downside of the afternoon was that the defending champion Wildcats managed to sneak away with the 87-85 victory.

Eltham's championship winning captain Sam Whelan secured their win with three clutch free throws at the death on what was a spectacular afternoon in the NBL1 South.

Following a stint at the Forestville Eagles in 2022 of NBL1 Central, Purchase is now in a third season back at the Tigers where his father, Nigel, has such a history of playing in the NBL alongside his current head coach Andrew Gaze.

Purchase was already having a terrific season and forming an especially impressive combination with recently signed Melbourne United NBL returnee Tom Wilson, but then he went up another gear on Sunday.

The former Melbourne United, Adelaide 36ers and Perth Wildcats shooting big man didn’t show too many signs early on Sunday of what was to come. He hit a three to open Melbourne's scoring against Eltham, but they were his only three points of the first quarter.

From there, he started to warm to the task beginning with three triples in the space of a minute early in the second period on his way to 18 points in the term to have 21 by the half.

He then scored another 12 points in the third quarter and then started the fourth frame with a three ball that turned into a four-point play when he was fouled.

He would make another five shots inside the arc to close out the game, two more three-pointers and a couple at the foul line for 22 points in the last 10 minutes on his way to 55 for the game to set a new NBL1 scoring record in the process.