College Basketball Player From Philadelphia Honors Kobe Bryant By Scoring 81 Points In Game
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A college basketball player from Philadelphia honored Kobe Bryant by dropping 81 points during a game on Monday night. Freshman guard Yazid Powell, a graduate of Overbrook High School, scored 81 points for the Community College of Beaver County in a 147-61 win over Butler County Community College.
Rich Flanagan of the Delco Times reports Powell shot 35-for-52 in the win.
According to Bleacher Report, Powell airballed a free throw so he could stay at 81 points before he was taken out.
Powell tweeted he scored the 81 to honor his idol.
"Tonight I scored 81 points in the honor of my idol, favorite player, and someone who is the reason I start playing basketball this mean so much to me I want to thank my teammates and coaches for allowing me to accomplish this," he said on Twitter.
Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others in Calabasas, California, famously scored 81 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 122-104 win over the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006.
