Paulos' 10 3s spark UNCG past UTC

photo UTC's Martynas Bareika, center, jumps for a rebound against UNCG's Kayel Locke, left, and David Williams Thursday at McKenzie Arena.
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UNC Greensboro forward Nicholas Paulos gave the radio man plenty to describe as Jim Reynolds called the 1,000th University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball game of his career.

Paulos set a UNCG record by sinking 10 3-pointers in the Spartans' 94-68 win over the Mocs on Thursday in McKenzie Arena. The Spartans set a team record with 20 made 3s, surpassing the previous mark of 17 set in McKenzie on Jan. 27, 2011.

"I'm sorry we had to do that on J.R.'s night," said UTC coach John Shulman, who dismissed freshman point guard Farad Cobb from the team earlier in the day.

"[Reynolds] has meant an awful lot to our program," Shulman said. "We respect him and appreciate what he's done. I'm sorry we did this on his night."

Paulos had a night to remember as well.

He was 10-of-12 on 3-point attempts. He sank six in a row on six straight possessions to bury the Mocs in a 73-45 deficit with more than 12 minutes to play.

He hit shots in transition, within the flow of the offense and on plays designed just for him to get a good look.

"I came out and got a couple to go early," Paulos said. "Then my teammates did an outstanding job of looking for me and setting great screens.

"I was feeling it. That's a good way to put it."

Paulos led all players with 30 points. Korey Van Dussen scored 11 points for the Spartans (8-18, 6-9), and Kelvin McNeil added 10, as did David Williams, who hit his second 3 of the year.

Trevis Simpson, the Southern Conference's leading scorer who booked 41 points on UTC in the first matchup of the season, added 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting, including a high-flying alley-oop on a set play.

"The whole goal was stopping [Derrell] Armstrong and Simpson -- we did a nice job of that," Shulman said.

The Spartans had 27 assists, four off the school record. Drew Parker had seven of them, and all but Tyler McNeely had at least one assist of the 11 Spartans who played.

"We shot the ball really well, and it makes me look like I can coach," UNCG's Wes Miller said. "I'm proud of the way we shared the ball.

"We had to attack their pressure, and we spent a lot of time working against to beat it and score."

The Spartans scored more points against UTC (11-17, 6-9) than any opponent this season. The Mocs hadn't allowed more than 90 since they played the Spartans through two overtimes on that January night in 2011 when UTC won 111-110.

Georgia Tech, Indiana, Butler, Tennessee, Kansas and LSU didn't break the 90-point barrier against UTC in the last two years. But the Spartans did.

"In theory, it counts as one loss," Shulman said. "It doesn't feel like that right now. That was shell-shocking."

Zaccheus Mason led the Mocs with 21 points and eight rebounds. Gee McGhee added 13 points and Ronrico White -- who likely will play point guard for the rest of the season with Cobb's departure -- added 12.

The Mocs made 25 of 33 free throws and shot 19-of-53 from the field. They hit 5-of-12 from the arc.

"We got the ball inside, couldn't score it and they were phenomenal from the 3," Shulman said. "It's a tough way to lose at home. It stings."

The Mocs never led and were down by 10 points less than eight minutes into the game. A 16-8 run to close the first half gave the Spartans a 47-29 lead.

UTC honored Reynolds at halftime, when broadcast partners Todd Agne and Will Poindexter put on headsets.

Interim athletic director Laura Herron presented Reynolds and his family with framed jerseys with his name and the numbers 10 and 00 to make 1,000. The student section received hand-held masks of Reynolds. The crowd of 2,682 gave him a standing ovation as a highlight reel played on the big screens.

Then Reynolds called the action of a forgettable second half in which UNCG led by at least 17 points and as many as 30.

"It's gut-check time," Shulman said. "You're tired, cranky, it's been a long season with adversity after adversity -- what ya got?

"Most people quit before they fail. I don't think this team will."

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