On a night when the spotlight was on Jim Reynolds and his 1,000th Chattanooga men's basketball broadcast, the visiting UNCG Spartans shot lights out and beat Chattanooga,94-68, Thursday night at McKenzie Arena before an announced crowd of 2,682.
The Spartans had a night the vast majority of college or pro teams in the country only dream of as they shot 60% from the field (34-70), including 55.6% from 3-point range (20-36) to improve to 8-18 overall and 6-9 in Southern Conference play.
Entering the game, UNCG was ranked 10th in the SoCon in 3-point field goal percentage at 32.5%.
The Mocs shot 35.8% from the field (19-53), 41.7% from 3-point range (5-12) and 75.8% in free throws (25-33).
UNCG Sophomore Nicholas Paulos led all players with 30 points, all coming from beyond the arc (10-12). Teammate Korey Van Dussen added 11 points (3-5 from 3-point range and a pair of free throws), four assists and two rebounds.
"I was able to get a few good looks in the first half (4-5 for 12 points) and my teammates set good screens for me and also was able to get the ball to me when I was open," said Paulos.
The Spartans led by 18 at intermission, 47-29, and had they largest lead at 30 at 94-64 with 2:26 remaining in the game.
"They were phenominal from three (point range) and we played with no sense of urgency," said UTC coach John Shulman.
"We were able to hold Trevis Simpson to 10 points after he scored 41 against us at their place, but once they got going from 3-point range we had a tough time finding an answer to stop them."
One key stretch for UNCG was late in the first half when they hit five consecutive 3s in a three minute period to go from a five-point lead (22-17 at 7:43) to a 16-point advantage (37-21 at 4:14).
The Mocs pulled to within 14 (39-25) at 2:56 on a Drazen Zlovaric jumper, but could get no closer.
The Mocs are 11-17 overall and 6-9 in the SoCon.
Farad Cobb Leaves the Team: "Farad Cobb is no longer with us," said coach John Shulman in the post-game media conference. "It was a tough decision to make, but in the end I thought that both Farad and the team needed to go in different directions. He is a bright kid and I hope he has success, but he needs to grow up."
Next Game: Double Senior Nite - Saturday Feb. 23
5 p.m. UTC Lady Mocs vs Western Carolina
7 p.m. UTC vs. Elon
UNCG 94, CHATTANOOGA 68
UNCG (8-18, 6-9 SoCon)
PAULOS, Nicholas 10-12 0-0 30; VAN DUSSEN, Korey 3-8 2-3 11; WILLIAMS, David
4-6 1-2 10; SIMPSON, Trevis 3-14 3-4 10; MCNEIL, Kelvin 5-7 0-0 10;
ARMSTRONG, Derrell 3-7 0-0 7; POTTS, Jordan 2-2 0-0 6; PARKER, Drew 2-4 0-1
6; LOCKE, Kayel 2-6 0-0 4; COLE, Brian 0-3 0-0 0; MCNEELY, Tyler 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 34-70 6-10 94.
CHATTANOOGA (11-17, 6-9 SoCon)
MASON, Z. 7-11 7-10 21; McGHEE, Gee 2-7 8-9 13; WHITE, Ronrico 2-6 8-8 12;
BRAN, Alex 3-6 0-0 9; ZLOVARIC, Drazen 2-11 1-4 5; JONES, Casey 1-3 1-2 3;
ROBERTSON, Eric 1-3 0-0 3; WATSON, Sam 1-2 0-0 2; BRYANT, Jared 0-1 0-0 0;
BAREIKA, Martynas 0-2 0-0 0; STOKES, Lance 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-53 25-33 68.
UNCG.......................... 47 47 - 94
Chattanooga................... 29 39 - 68
3-point goals--UNCG 20-36 (PAULOS, Nicholas 10-12; VAN DUSSEN, Korey 3-5;
PARKER, Drew 2-4; POTTS, Jordan 2-2; WILLIAMS, David 1-1; ARMSTRONG, Derrell
1-3; SIMPSON, Trevis 1-6; COLE, Brian 0-1; LOCKE, Kayel 0-2), Chattanooga
5-12 (BRAN, Alex 3-4; McGHEE, Gee 1-3; ROBERTSON, Eric 1-2; BAREIKA,
Martynas 0-1; WHITE, Ronrico 0-1; MASON, Z. 0-1). Fouled out--UNCG-None,
Chattanooga-None. Rebounds--UNCG 37 (MCNEIL, Kelvin 8), Chattanooga 39
(MASON, Z. 8). Assists--UNCG 27 (PARKER, Drew 7), Chattanooga 11 (WHITE,
Ronrico 3). Total fouls--UNCG 24, Chattanooga 13. Technical
fouls--UNCG-None, Chattanooga-None. A-2682
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net