BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The UNCG men's basketball team broke a 44-year record Saturday night as the Spartans posted a valiant second half effort mounting a strong comeback before falling to perennial Big Ten power Indiana at famed Assembly Hall. The Spartans connected on an Assembly Hall record 14 3-pointers in the loss as they rallied form 22-points down in the second half to pull within six points in the final minute, before suffering the loss to the home standing Hoosiers.

The Spartans connected on 14-of-23 (60.9%) from long range in the loss, including 7-of-9 (77.8%) in the second half where they out-scored the Hoosiers 45-37. The 14 3-pointers are the most all-time for any opponent in Assembly Hall in the 44-year history of the building, surpassing the 13 3-pointers hit by Ohio State in 2013.

Senior guard Nicholas Paulos (Salt Lake City, Utah/New Hampton School) and sophomore guard Clay Byrd (Connelly Springs, N.C./East Burke) combined for 12 of the 14 3-pointers on the night as they finished a combined 12-of-19 (63.1%) from distance. Paulos led all scorers with a season-high 24 points as he was 9-of-12 from the field and 6-of-8 from distance while also grabbing six rebounds, dishing out three assists and notching three steals. Byrd scored a career-high 20 points as he was 7-of-13 from the field and 6-of-11 from long range.

“In the first half, rebounding crushed us but in the second half, we were into it defensively and communicating as a team and that is something we can build on going forward,” head coach Wes Miller said. “We have guys on our team who can really make catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. Clay and Nicholas are two of the best at that in Division I and they showed that tonight. We are really beat up with injuries right now and as soon as some good things started to happen for us in the second half, you saw our team start playing with confidence in a hostile environment.”

The Spartans finished the game shooting 49.2 percent (31-of-63) from the field, including 62.1 percent in the second half. Junior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) scored 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting while sophomore guard Tevon Saddler (Aberdeen, Md./St. Frances Academy) chipped in 14 points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward Jordy Kuiper (Groningen, Netherlands/Canaries Basketball Academy) added a career-high five assists and four rebounds off the bench to spark the Spartans.

Indiana finished the game shooting 50 percent (28-of-56) from the field and hit 9-of-24 (37.5%) from long range. The Hoosiers went to the free throw line 29 times, compared to just seven attempts for the Spartans. All five Indiana starters scored in double figures with James Blackmon leading the way with 24 points and nine rebounds.  

Indiana came out and opened to a quick 8-4 lead to force the Spartans into an early timeout as UNCG was settling into the game. The Spartans trimmed the deficit to 11-9 as Sadler scored four straight in the early going, Paulos hit a 3-pointer and Locke scored in the paint. The Hoosiers responded with an 18-5 run on its way to a 28-10 run, taking a 39-19 lead with 5:37 left in the half.

The Spartans kept battling and posted an 8-1 spurt to trim the deficit to 40-27. Paulos was the key in the attack, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers. After the Hoosiers answered with an 8-1 run of their own, the Spartans closed the half on a 6-2 run. Paulos hit his four 3-pointer of the half and Locke capped the first half by hitting a 3-pointer on the run with 0.7 seconds left to send UNCG into the locker room trailing 50-34.

The Spartans connected on 38.2 percent (13-of-34) from the field and 50 percent (7-of-14) from 3-point land in the first half. Paulos led all scorers with 14 points while Locke chipped in 10 points. The Hoosiers dominated the glass, holding a 28-13 edge in rebounds, including 10 on the offensive glass that they turned into 12 second-chance points.

Indiana connected on 51.4 percent (18-of-35) from the field and 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from long range in the opening 20 minutes. The Hoosiers also went to the free throw line 13 times, compared to just three for the Spartans. Blackmon led Indiana with nine points as nine different Hoosiers scored in the first half while UNCG only had points from four different players in the opening half.

After the Hoosiers scored the first five points of the second half, Byrd nailed a 3-pointer to settle the Spartans down in front of the crowd of 12,285 fans. The Spartans started to chip away at the deficit and posted a 10-2 run to narrow the gap to 62-49 with 13:53 left. Paulos started the run with five straight points while junior walk-on Asad Lamot (Mebane, N.C./Lees-McRae) added four straight in the run.

Indiana answered back and extended the lead back to 19 points at 68-49 when Yogi Ferrell hit a 3-pointer. The Spartans showed their mettle and answered back with a 15-4 run to take the deficit to single digits at 72-64 with 8:52 remaining. Paulos again played a key role as his 3-pointer started the run before Byrd accelerated the action scoring eight points in the stretch, including two from distance and a basket in transition.

UNCG kept battling and kept the game in single digits for most of the closing stretch. Saddler scored on a drive with 48 seconds left to make it an 81-74 contest but Blackmon hit a pair of free throws to answer. Byrd nailed his sixth 3-pointer to make it a six-point contest but the Hoosiers hit their final four from the charity stripe to seal the victory.

The Spartans finished the game with a season-high 17 assists on the night while only committing 12 turnovers. Additionally, UNCG posted nine steals in the loss, forcing Indiana into 13 miscues.

The Spartans return to action Monday night as they come home to the Greensboro Coliseum and host Triad rival High Point. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

-UNCG-