Friday, March 24, 2000
Michigan State 75, Syracuse 58
Peterson keys second-half Spartans surge
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — There wasn't anyone on his team who didn't anger Michigan State coach Tom Izzo during the first 20 minutes of basketball, but no one angered him more than All-American guard Morris Peterson.
The halftime box showed all sorts of numbers that threatened the Spartans, including the double-digit lead Syracuse built, but how could they expect to win in the NCAA Tournament with Peterson attempting just three shots?
“He was telling me, "You're playing awful. Being an All-American, you've got to play like it all the time,'” Peterson said. “He said, "If you're not playing 100 miles an hour, you're not playing like yourself.' I looked at that and took it as a challenge.”
There was plenty more Peterson after that, and plenty more Michigan State in a 75-58 Midwest Regional semifinal victory at the Spartans fan-infested Palace of Auburn Hills.
The top-seeded Spartans (29-7) recovered from a 14-point deficit to close the game on a 17-0 run. Syracuse (26-6) did not score after guard Jason Hart
nailed a tough one-hander over MSU's Mateen Cleaves to tie the score at 58-58with 5:55 remaining.
All-American center Etan Thomas was in foul trouble the final eight minutes and scored just seven points on three shots. Guard Allen Griffin, who shocked Michigan State by reaching double figures in the first half, was shut out the final 10 minutes and wound up with 14 points.
Peterson scored 16 second-half points to finish with 21, including a 3-pointer with 4:42 left that was his fourth of the half and helped break open the game.
“I thought he passed up a lot of shots,” Izzo said. “By the time I got to the locker room, Mateen was already giving it to him pretty good. I kind of agreed with him. After that, I had to pick them up. It was a little bit of a role reversal.”
Michigan State shot 68 percent from the field in the second half and averaged just short of a basket per possession through the final 12 minutes to seize control of the game with the sort of ferocity it regularly employed on the way to last season's Final Four.
The first half against Syracuse gave cause to wonder where that team had gone.
“I didn't think we were playing hard,” said Cleaves, who finished with 10 points and seven assists. “I don't mind guys missing shots. I don't mind if things aren't going right. But if you're not playing hard, then I'm going to get up in your face.”
This was the first time all season the Spartans were forced to attack a zone defense, and they operated reluctantly until Izzo and Cleaves tag-teamed them during the break.
A technical adjustment also helped, with Izzo ordering power forward A.J. Granger to position himself at the foul line and shoot aggressively from there if left unguarded after catching the ball.
“Once we got a run going and the crowd got behind us, I think everybody worked harder to do their part,” said Granger, who scored 19. “Even when we weren't playing that well, they still stuck behind us and got us fired up.”
With Cleaves missing his first six shots from the field, his presence in the game damaged the Spartans against the zone in the first half. Syracuse's athletic wings made an effort to pinch on Peterson and Charlie Bell to prevent them from launching jump shots.
Forcing Syracuse to squeeze into the lane to challenge Granger led to openings for the MSU guards outside the 3-point line, and that helped shift the game in the Spartans' favor. Peterson nailed his second and third 3-pointers of the half to start an 8-0 run that ended when Cleaves hit a floating one-hander that cut the SU lead to 49-46.
“They made shots. We had a hand in their face, and they still hit it,” Syracuse guard Tony Bland said. “They took the momentum.”
Thomas went to the bench with 7:51 left, but Andre Hutson missed the two free throws. When Granger scored off a feed from Cleaves on MSU's next trip, it was still a one-point Syracuse lead.
Bell then drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing to put MSU in front for the first time since it was 11-9.
“I have said this is a special team since the beginning,” Izzo said. “They showed it in the second half. The second half was as good as we have played.”
SYRACUSE (58)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Brown 26 4-8 0-0 2-5 0 3 8
Blackwell 37 4-13 1-3 3-6 4 3 9
Thomas 37 3-3 1-2 1-6 0 4 7
Bland 8 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 3
Hart 40 5-11 0-0 0-3 10 4 11
Shumpert 20 2-6 0-0 0-2 0 2 6
Griffin 32 5-10 4-4 0-1 1 3 14
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 24-52 6-9 6-23 15 19 58
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.462, FT-.667. 3-Point Goals:
4-12, .333 (Blackwell 0-1, Bland 1-1, Hart 1-4,
Shumpert 2-5, Griffin 0-1). Team rebounds: 4.
Blocked shots: 2 (Thomas 2). Turnovers: 11 (Hart
4, Thomas 3, Griffin 2, Blackwell, Shumpert).
Steals: 5 (Hart 3, Griffin, Shumpert).
MICHIGAN ST (75)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Hutson 34 5-7 1-4 2-5 1 2 11
Peterson 34 6-10 4-4 1-3 2 2 21
Granger 33 7-11 3-3 2-4 3 1 19
Cleaves 38 4-12 0-0 0-1 7 1 10
Bell 29 3-7 4-4 1-6 4 1 12
Thomas 2 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Chappell 15 0-1 1-2 1-4 0 2 1
Richardson 11 0-1 0-0 0-3 0 0 0
Anagonye 4 0-0 1-2 1-1 0 4 1
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 25-49 14-19 8-28 17 13 75
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.510, FT-.737. 3-Point Goals:
11-23, .478 (Peterson 5-9, Granger 2-4, Cleaves
2-6, Bell 2-4). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots:
3 (Granger 2, Peterson). Turnovers: 10 (Cleaves
3, Hutson 3, Bell 2, Peterson, Thomas). Steals: 3
(Bell, Cleaves, Hutson).
__________________________________
Syracuse 34 24 - 58
Michigan St 24 51 - 75
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None. A: 21,214. Officials:
Scott Thornley, Bob Sitov, Rick Hartzell.
Sports Stories
Channel 5 airing opener
Harnisch looks like Opening Day starter
No answers for No. 5 spot
Radke may be back on market
Reds Game Report
Copeland dealing with ankle
UC reorganizes football staff
