By ISU Sports Information
ST. LOUIS – For the second time in three weeks, Illinois State senior point guard Paris Lee is the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday.
Lee led the Redbirds by scoring a career-high 24 points on a career-best eight field goals in ISU’s 81-72 win over Saint Joseph’s Sunday afternoon on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
The Maywood, Illinois, native shot 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) from the field, 4-for-6 (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc and a perfect 4-for-4 (100 percent) at the free throw line. He also dished four assists, with one turnover, and forced three steals with four rebounds in 31 minutes.
Lee, who leads the MVC and ranks fifth nationally in three-point percentage (56.5 percent), continued his hot three-point shooting by burying a trifecta to start the game. He then banked in a buzzer-beating, 40-foot 3-pointer to lift Illinois State to a 41-27 halftime lead. In the second half, Lee stopped a 13-2 SJU run by hitting a deep 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer, which sparked a 12-5 Redbird run to push ISU ahead by 12 points.
Lee leads the team and ranks sixth in the MVC in scoring (15.7 points per game) and leads the league and ranks 15th nationally with 6.0 assists averaged per contest.
Lee and the Redbirds have now won two in a row and five or their last six games. Illinois State next travels to the Diamond Head Classic for three games in Honolulu, Hawaii, to conclude nonconference play. The Redbirds will then return to Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena to tip off Missouri Valley Conference play Dec. 29 versus Evansville at 7 p.m.
