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Wayne State University Athletics

Rob Lee, Jr. - 2025 at Northern Michigan
NMU Sports Information
Rob Lee, Jr. racked up his 40 points on 12-of-18 shooting, including 6-of-8 from deep, and a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line.
82
Winner Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 8-7,4-3 GLIAC
67
Northern Mich. NMU 11-4,5-2 GLIAC
Winner
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne
8-7,4-3 GLIAC
82
Final
67
Northern Mich. NMU
11-4,5-2 GLIAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 48 34 82
Northern Mich. NMU 29 38 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Cooper Weidenthaler, Sports Communications Specialist

Men's Basketball Blows Out Northern Michigan Behind Lee's 40 Points

Wayne State led by as many as 21, 50-29 early in the second half.

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- Rob Lee, Jr. (Flint, Mich. / Beecher) became the fourth Warrior ever to score 40 points in a game and first since 2006 on Thursday night as the Wayne State University men's basketball team (8-7 overall, 4-3 GLIAC) steamrolled Northern Michigan (11-4 overall, 5-2 GLIAC) 82-67.

Lee, Jr. (40 points) joins elite company including George Duncan on Jan. 9, 1960 against Western Reserve (50 points), Danny Lewis on Feb. 20, 1993 vs. Michigan Tech (45 points) and Kris Krzyminski on Nov. 30, 2006 against Gannon (41 points).

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Wayne State couldn't have asked for a better start, scoring 25 of the contest's first 35 points through the initial nine-plus minutes of game time.  In that span, the Warriors shot 9-of-11 from the floor including a perfect 7-for-7 from behind the arc as five scorers contributed.

Lee, Jr. led the way with nine points, but was joined by Ray Williams, Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) with six, Carmelo Harris (Flint, Mich. / Beecher) with five, Jordan Briggs (Muskegon, Mich.) with three and Kelvin Tamakloe (Accra, Ghana / Spring Creek Academy [Blinn College]) with two.

Northern Michigan then showed signs of life with 13 straight points to make it a two-point affair at the 8:34 mark, 25-23.

A half of runs concluded though as WSU punched right back thanks to 23 of the ensuing 29 points before halftime for a 19-point advantage, 48-29.  Wayne State made eight of its 11 field goal attempts, 2-of-5 looks from deep and all five free throws.

Individually, Carlos Paul III (Southfield, Mich. / Cornerstone Lincoln-King [Missouri State - West Plains]) racked up his first nine points, Lee, Jr. added nine, Harris chipped in three and Briggs scored two more.

For the half, Wayne State shot nearly 60 percent from the floor at 58.6 percent (17-of-29) to Northern Michigan's 36.7 percent (11-of-30).  The Warriors went 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) from long range compared to 2-for-12 (16.7 percent) for the Wildcats.  Both squads converted five of their seven attempts from the charity stripe.

Second Half
Wayne State sprinted out to its biggest lead of the night at 21 (50-29) as Lee, Jr. got back to work with a layup.  That deuce was part of nine points in a row to end the first half and begin the second for the sophomore.

The Warriors would enjoy one more lead of 20+ at the 17:32 juncture (53-33) before the Wildcats began to mount their comeback effort.

Northern Michigan was able to slim the margin to as little as nine on a pair of occasions, 72-63 (3:48 left) and 74-65 (1:54 left), but never more than that.

The home team shot an even 50 percent (12-of-24) to the visitors' 45.0 percent (9-of-20) in the final 20 minutes, while both teams cashed a trio of triples.  The game was never tied and the hosts' lone advantage came at 1-0 12 seconds into the night.

TEAM STATS
Wayne State finished at 53.1 percent (26-of-29) to Northern Michigan's 42.6 percent (23-of-54).  The Warriors won the rebounding battle by six (31-25) including 25-18 on the defensive glass.  NMU outscored WSU 34-18 in bench points and 30-20 in paint scoring.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
The next-closest Warrior to Lee, Jr.'s 40 points was Paul III with 18, two off his career high.  Williams, Jr. was four points short of a double-double with 12 rebounds, two shy of his personal best.  Briggs dished out five assists to only two turnovers giving him 16 and two, respectively, in his last three outings.  Defensively, Harris notched WSU's lone block and three players tallied two steals apiece.

LEADING THE WILDCATS
Three Wildcats scored in double figures -- Gerald Gittens (17 points), Dylan Kuehl (16) and Cal Klesmit (11) while Kuehl needed one more board for a double-double.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will be at Michigan Tech (11-4 overall, 6-1 GLIAC) on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip against the Huskies inside SDC Gymnasium.

 
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