#5 Michigan State 72, #13 Vermont 61 BOX SCORE
AUSTIN REGIONAL VIDEO GALLERY (courtesy of CBS)
WORCESTER, Mass. -- The ‘Cinderella’ men’s basketball season of the Vermont Catamounts came to an end Sunday, but not before Coach Tom Brennan's team captured the hearts of the region and the attention of the nation with an upset of Big East champion and 11th ranked Syracuse to advance to the second round of the 2005 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. T.J. Sorrentine (Pawtucket, R.I.) scored a game-high 26 points including the 2,000th of his career but the fifth-seeded Michigan State Spartans pulled away from Vermont, 72-61, Sunday at the DCU Center to move on to the regional semifinals next weekend in Austin, Texas.

The finest season in the 105-year history of basketball ends for the Catamounts (25-7) who in 2004-05 won their third straight America East Championship, their first-ever outright conference regular season title, a school-record 25 games and became the first America East team in nine years to advance to the second round of the NCAA tourney. More than the team’s success in the record book, the team put Vermont basketball on the national radar screen and gave the university, the community and the entire Green Mountain State a sense of overwhelming pride that one of its own could compete with success on the nation’s biggest stage.

“It is real hard to express what we have done has meant to everyone,” commented Brennan in the post game press conference. “We can’t thank everyone enough on what the support has meant to us. We gave more back than what we took and what we did this weekend was the thrill of a lifetime. It was the greatest ride that I could ever, ever have had. You know you're in a very special place when your realities outweigh your dreams. And that's where I am. We have a program now and I am very proud of that.

“I told the team after the game that it would be hard for me to imagine that anybody has ever done anything in Vermont that has meant more to more people," he said. "That's going to be the legacy, that's what's going to be remembered. These guys are going to be heroes forever."

The talented and deep Big Ten Spartans were too much for the Catamounts who took good shots but could not convert on the afternoon. Vermont shot just 31% overall but found a way to hang around by out-rebounding MSU, 41-39, with a 23-12 edge on the offensive glass. Michigan State was terrific in transition with 16 fast break points to just two for Vermont and they had four players tally in double digits.

"I'm glad it's over," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "I thought, with the entire state and nation pulling for them, it would be tough to overcome. I tell you, if I wasn't playing against them, I'd be pulling for them."

"You know your program has come a long way when you lose to Michigan State and you're crushed," said Brennan.

The sellout crowd of 13,008 was heavily tilted toward the Catamounts and it roared early on as Sorrentine hit a pair of three-pointers in giving UVM a 7-3 lead two and half minutes into the contest. The Spartans defense tightened, especially inside on Taylor Coppenrath (West Barnet, Vt.), the nation’s second leading scorer, who had just one field goal in eight first half attempts. Drew Neitzel’s jumper capped a 7-2 run that gave MSU an 18-11 lead midway through the period. The teams traded scores before Sorrentine went on an Allen Iverson-like explosion that got the pro-Catamount crowd back into the game, and gave Vermont the lead.

With just under five minutes to go before halftime, Sorrentine dribbled between his legs and stepped back to nail his third trey of the game- his 2,000th career point- and on the Cats’ next trip, after a ball-fake from the arc, he drove baseline to nail a 12-footer to cut the Spartans' lead to 24-23. On the next possession, after a nifty cross-over dribble, he drilled another long trey to give Vermont a two-point lead, 26-24, and Izzo called a time-out.

Maurice Ager (19 points) answered for MSU with a three-pointer of his own before Sorrentine drove the right side and banked a runner off the glass to make it 28-27 with 2:56 left in the half. But the Spartans offensive weapons were too much as they closed out the half with an 8-0 run to take a 35-28 lead to the locker room.

After halftime, Michigan State took control by shooting 59% in the second stanza. The gritty Catamounts, behind Coppenrath (11 points in second half) and two more treys by Sorrentine, would cut the deficit four times to single digits. Coppenrath and Martin Klimes (Prague, Czech Republic) each had buckets to make it 69-61 with a minute to go but they would not score again.

"In the long run, we'll be looking at this as a great thing. But we all feel now that this is kind of an opportunity given away," said Klimes, who had 12 points and eight rebounds. "We really wanted to go to the Sweet 16. We felt like we had a chance, but in the end we just couldn't handle them."

It was the final game at Vermont for five seniors, Coppenrath, Sorrentine, Germain Mopa Njila (Yaounde, Cameroon), David Hehn (Sarnia, Ontario) and Alex Jensen (Mystic, Conn.). They led Vermont to 89 victories over the last four seasons with three straight America East titles and the school’s first three trips to the NCAA Tourney.

Although he struggled today against the bruising MSU frontline (five-for-23 from the field), Coppenrath recorded his 11th double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds. The Wooden Award candidate concludes his career second all-time in scoring at Vermont with 2,452 points and fourth in rebounds with 846. His 25.1 points per game average this season is second in the nation and is second best in UVM history. His 777 points, tops in the country in 2004-05, are the most ever in a single season at Vermont and the second most in conference history. The three-time Kevin Roberson America East Player of the Year, he also is the second player in conference history to lead the loop in scoring for three straight years.

With six treys today and 11 on the weekend, Sorrentine made the most of his three career games in the NCAAs hitting 16 three-pointers. He became the third player in school history, and the 10th in conference history to reach the 2,000th point plateau finishing with 2,013. His 355 three-pointers, by far the Vermont and America East records, are 12th all-time in NCAA history. He also ended his standout career second at UVM with 548 assists. His 116 treys as a senior are by far the most in school and conference history.

Mopa Njila, who had eight rebounds today, will long be remembered at Vermont for his tremendous effort in the Syracuse win with a career-high 20 points on nine-for-10 shooting. A two-time member of the America East All-Championship Team, he finished 10th all-time at Vermont with 615 rebounds, fourth in steals with 158 and second in games played with 123.

Another clutch performer who sent the Catamounts to the NCAAs for the first time with the game-winning shot in the 2003 America East title game, the gritty Hehn wrapped up his career as UVM’s all-time leader in games played with 125 – while never missing a contest. He also ranked eighth with 286 assists and fifth with 155 steals.

Vermont’s top backcourt reserve the last two seasons after transferring from Lehigh, Jensen was a key part of the last two conference title teams and knocked down 150 three-pointers in his four collegiate seasons.

The game also was the last at Vermont for the affable Brennan, who led the basketball renaissance at the university. A three-time America East Coach of the Year, he finished his 19-year career in Burlington as UVM’s all-time winningest coach with 264 victories. In addition to his success on the court, he leaves a legacy of wit, generosity and refreshing attitude while at the helm of the program.