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Wayne State University Athletics

Rob Lee, Jr. - 2025 vs. Lake Superior State
Taylor Carrow
Rob Lee, Jr. scored a team-high 18 points including the game-tying bucket at the end of regulation.
79
Winner Lake Superior St. LSSU 25-5,16-4 GLIAC
77
Wayne State WSU-M 15-13,11-9 GLIAC
Winner
Lake Superior St. LSSU
25-5,16-4 GLIAC
79
Final
77
Wayne State WSU-M
15-13,11-9 GLIAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Lake Superior St. LSSU 38 33 8 79
Wayne State WSU-M 43 28 6 77

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

Men's Hoops Ousted by 16th-Ranked Lake Superior State in Overtime

The Lakers scored the game-winning bucket with just one second left in the extra period.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (15-13 overall, 11-9 GLIAC) played its second overtime game in as many seasons on Saturday, both of which came against Lake Superior State (25-5 overall, 16-4 GLIAC).  Like the first of those two, which was played in Sault Ste. Marie, the Lakers outlasted the Warriors, this time by a score of 79-77.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Wayne State couldn't have asked for a better start opening the game on a 12-2 run through the first three minutes and change.  In that stretch, the Warriors were a perfect 5-of-5 from the field, 1-of-1 from behind the arc and 1-of-1 at the free throw line.  Individual scorers included Jordan Briggs (Muskegon, Mich.) and Rob Lee, Jr. (Flint, Mich. / Beecher) with three apiece while Ray Williams, Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy), Kelvin Tamakloe (Accra, Ghana / Spring Creek Academy [Blinn College]) and Carmelo Harris (Flint, Mich. / Beecher) each had a pair.

Lake Superior State responded by tallying nine of the ensuing 11 points and cut the margin to three, 14-11, at the 14:35 mark.  The home team didn't let that affect it though and pushed through with a 15-2 outburst over the course of the next six minutes.  WSU's advantage grew to 16 (29-13) with under nine to play as four Warriors provided the fuel.  They were Lee, Jr. (5), Jon Brantley (Farmington Hills, Mich. / Brother Rice [Lafayette College]) with four, Harris (3) and Briggs (3).

Not long after, Wayne State took its largest lead of the contest at 17 (32-15) with 7:03 remaining in the stanza.  From there until the final first-half buzzer, the visitors outscored their hosts by 12 (23-11) and the Warriors' halftime advantage had shrunk to five, 43-38.  In that final span, WSU was 4-of-10 from the floor to LSSU's 8-of-12.

Second Half
The second half began with the game's first three ties in its initial five minutes and change.  Once the scoreboard read 49-49, a Kingsley Perkins jumper put his team ahead for the first time all day, 51-49.  Leading by as many as 10, 61-51, the Lakers carried the lead until the 6:19 mark.

At that point came deadlock number four (61-61) before the Warriors capped off an 11-0 rally to take the advantage back at 62-61 with 5:36 left.  Following two more lead changes and another tie (64-64), Briggs cashed the second of his two triples to put the good guys up, 67-64.

Back-to-back Lake Superior State two-pointers swung the advantage back to the opposition (68-67), but Tamakloe notched the final two points of his career-high 13 and Wayne State had the lead back (69-67) with just 51 ticks left.

Back on the other end, The Lakers' Perkins converted a second-chance three-pointer, which forced the Warriors' head coach Bryan Smothers to use his fourth and final timeout.  Out of the breather, Lee, Jr. knotted the score up at 71-71 with a layup before LSSU's Devin Womack's layup at the other end was blocked by Briggs, sending the game into overtime.

Overtime
Aside from three ties, Wayne State had the advantage for nearly the entirety of the extra period.  Each of the three instances in which the Warriors took a two-point lead though, the Lakers were able to knot it up.

Once it was 77-77 with 54 seconds left, Carlos Paul III (Southfield, Mich. / Cornerstone Lincoln-King [Missouri State - West Plains]) missed a triple try and Lake Superior State nabbed the defensive rebound.

On the other end, LSSU came up empty on a pair of layups before Perkins sealed it with a jumper in the paint.   WSU used its lone overtime timeout before Harris caught the inbound pass and heaved a three-quarter court attempt that missed the mark.

TEAM STATS
Wayne State shot 47.8 percent (32-of-67) to Lake Superior State's 44.3 percent (31-of-70).  The Warriors were 5-of-24 (20.8 percent) from deep to the Lakers' 8-of-30 (26.7 percent).  LSSU won the rebounding battle 44-35, including 14-7 on the offensive glass which led to a 13-4 advantage in second-chance points.  Lake Superior State also had the upper hand in paint scoring (42-32) while Wayne State controlled points off turnovers (10-2).  Both teams took care of the ball including 14 assists to nine turnovers for LSSU compared to 11 and six for WSU, respectively.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Four Warriors scored in double-figures including Lee, Jr. (18), Briggs (15), Tamakloe (13, personal best), and Harris (11).  Tamakloe led the way on the glass with eight rebounds and Brantley dished out three assists.  Defensively, three different players registered a block and Briggs swiped a pair of steals.

LEADING THE LAKERS
Womack paced all scorers with 26 points as he was joined in the double-figure department by Tyson Edmondson (17), Perkins (15) and Adam Harakow (10).  Perkins earned a double-double with 12 boards while three different Lakers accounted for three dimes each.  On the other side of the floor, Perkins had a pair of blocks and two takeaways.

SENIOR DAY
Prior to the start of the game, the men's basketball program recognized redshirt-senior guard Ray Williams, Jr. and graduate assistant coach Kyle Lorentzen.

UP NEXT
Wayne State is the sixth seed for the 2025 GLIAC Tournament and will travel to third-seeded/tied-for-22nd-ranked Ferris State on Wednesday, March 5 for the quarterfinals.  The opening tip in Big Rapids is slated for 7:30 p.m.  The Warriors and Lakers split their two regular-season meetings with the home team winning in each of them.

 
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