Timberwolves' Jarrett Culver thrilled for brother, J.J., after scoring 100 in college game

Jarrett Culver only saw part of it. But he heard all about it.

There are three Culver brothers. Jarrett, the Wolves rookie guard, is 20. J.J. is 21 and Trey is 23.

Jarrett was in the gym working out Tuesday when he started getting texts from Trey about J.J., who is a star for Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas, which is only about 50 miles from Lubbock, where they all grew up and Jarrett attended Texas Tech.

"[Trey's] texting me like, 'J.J. has 24 and the game just started,' " Jarrett said. "I was like, 'All right, he's going to have a good night.' And then he had 51 at halftime."

J.J. finished with an even 100 points in Wayland's 124-60 victory over Southwestern Adventist. He made 34 of 62 shots, hit 12 of 33 three-pointers and 20 of 27 free throws. He became the second player in NAIA history to score 100 points in a game. The other was Clarence "Bevo" Francis, who scored 113 in a game for Rio Grande (Ohio) in 1954.

Frank Selvy had 100 for Furman against Newberry College in 1954, the only 100-point performance by an NCAA Division I player. The last college player to do it was Jack Taylor of Division III Grinnell College. He had 138 in 2012 (an NCAA record) and 109 in 2013.

"I left the gym and my phone just blew up," Jarrett said. "Everyone is texting me, 'Your brother, your brother.' So I FaceTimed him. I was like, 'No way!' I didn't know what to say. I was in shock. It felt like I was dreaming."

Jarrett and J.J. played together in high school before going to different colleges, but last year they had similar seasons. Each led a conference title team that made the postseason. Each was player of the year in his league.

So did J.J. earn family bragging rights?

"He's got it, he's got it," Jarrett said. "I feel like I dropped 100 the way I was celebrating with him. I was super-excited for him. He deserves it."

Josh Okogie made his fifth consecutive start Wednesday against Utah at Target Center.

Wolves coach Ryan Saunders has been cautious not to overwork Okogie, who played for the Nigerian national team in the World Cup over the summer. But he decided to move the guard into the starting lineup at Dallas a week ago.

"Josh has always been a big piece to what we're doing," Saunders said. "But I like the way Josh is shooting the ball, I like his floor spacing. And then, last year [Okogie's rookie season] he shows me he's able to guard a ball-dominant player and usually the best offensive player to an acceptable level. We all have things we need to work on, but I like what he can be for this group moving forward."

Statistically, the move has paid off. Okogie shot 44.8% overall, made six of 11 three-pointers and averaged 11.3 points in the four games before Wednesday, an improvement over his season averages.

• Reserve Keita Bates-Diop missed Wednesday's game because of illness.