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Wayne State University Athletics

Rob Lee, Jr. - 2025 vs. Northern Michigan
Izzy Rincon
Rob Lee, Jr. scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field.
66
Winner Northern Mich. NMU 16-6,10-4 GLIAC
61
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 11-11,7-7 GLIAC
Winner
Northern Mich. NMU
16-6,10-4 GLIAC
66
Final
61
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne
11-11,7-7 GLIAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Northern Mich. NMU 31 35 66
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 20 41 61

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

Men's Basketball Ousted by Northern Michigan, 66-61

The teams' all-time series is now even at 43-43.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (11-11, 7-7) trailed Northern Michigan (16-6, 10-4) wire to wire on Saturday afternoon en route to a 66-61 loss inside the Fieldhouse.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Northern Michigan scored 22 of the game's first 29 points over the course of a span that lasted nearly 14 and a half minutes.  During that stretch, Wayne State went 3-of-12 from the field and 0-of-2 from behind the arc with eight turnovers, while the visitors converted nine of their 21 looks from the floor.

The home team responded with 10 of the next 12 points and cut the deficit to seven, 24-17.  Six of those 10 points came from Rob Lee, Jr. (Flint, Mich. / Beecher) while his high school teammate Carmelo Harris (Flint, Mich. / Beecher) accounted for the other four.

From that point until the final buzzer of the first half, NMU outscored WSU 7-3 to lead by 11 heading into the locker rooms, 31-20.

Second Half
After a Northern Michigan two-pointer 48 seconds out of the break by Gerald Gittens, the margin was back to 13 at 33-20.

Then, Carlos Paul III (Southfield, Mich. / Cornerstone Lincoln-King [Missouri State - West Plains]) sank a pair of free throws and Ray Williams, Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) pulled away for a fast-break dunk slimming the Wildcats' advantage to single-digits, 33-24.

NMU proceeded to rattle off 11 of the ensuing 15 points and charged out to its biggest lead of the game at 16, 44-28.

WSU didn't go away quietly though as it used a 16-4 outburst that slimmed the difference to four (48-44) with 8:31 remaining.  Four Warriors contributed to the spurt including Paul III with six, Tamario Adley (Detroit, Mich. / Warren De La Salle [Macomb CC]) with four, Jordan Briggs (Muskegon, Mich.) with three, and Lee, Jr. with two.

Following six consecutive Northern Michigan points, the edge ballooned to 10 again (54-44) at the 6:14 juncture.  After that, Wayne State was unable to get any closer than five points (64-59, 66-61) and the Wildcats' lead was as large as 11 (59-48).

TEAM STATS
Wayne State shot 44.7 percent (21-of-47) to Northern Michigan's 41.4 percent (24-of-58).  The Warriors went 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) from long range to the Wildcats' 5-of-16 (31.3 percent).  WSU garnered just seven assists to 14 turnovers while NMU accounted for 10 dimes and four giveaways.  Northern Michigan turned those Wayne State giveaways into 15 points (15-8 advantage).  The Wildcats also had the upper hand in paint scoring (38-30) while the Warriors' bench was better (20-12).

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Three Warriors scored in double-figures including Lee, Jr. with a game-high 19, Adley (12) and Paul III (11).  Lee, Jr. and Adley both came two rebounds shy of a double-double while Briggs dished out three assists.  Defensively, Paul III and Adam Ayrault (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) each notched a block while three different players registered a steal.

LEADING THE WILDCATS
Jackson Dudek (18 points), Julien Smith (14 points) and Dylan Kuehl (12 points) were on top of the scoring column for Northern Michigan.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will begin a four-game road trip with Saginaw Valley State on Thursday night.  Opening tip against the Cardinals is slated for 7:30 p.m. in University Center.

 
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