01:00 AM EST on Monday, March 21, 2005

BY KEVIN McNAMARA
Journal Sports Writer

WORCESTER -- Reality hit the Vermont Catamounts squarely on the jaw in yesterday's second-round NCAA Tournament game here at the DCU Center.

It also plugged the Cats in the side and the lower back and in between the numbers on their chests. That's what a 40-minute basketball battle with the Spartans of Michigan State is all about.

That physical, football-style of play is what defines Tom Izzo's teams. It was the calling card of the 2000 national championship team and what paved the way for the Spartans to overwhelm the Catamounts, 72-61, and push the team to its sixth Sweet 16 appearance in the last eight seasons.

Except for some unbelievably tough, thrilling shots by Pawtucket point guard T.J. Sorrentine (six 3-pointers, 26 points), the Spartans ended Vermont's exciting, storybook tourney ride with the subtlety of a forearm shiver. The player who felt the brunt of the body blows was senior big man Taylor Coppenrath.

The 6-foot-9, 250-pounder came into the game averaging 25.7 points, but struggled big-time in his final college game, hitting just 5-of-23 shots to finish with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

"I'm pretty worn down," said Coppenrath. "I thought I was rested after playing a lot of minutes the other night (45 in a 60-57 win over Syracuse) but it seemed everywhere I went, they had one or two or three guys there."

Izzo's Spartans weren't just taking up space. They're one of the most athletic teams in the country and made it a point to extend the floor and pressure nearly every pass the Catamounts tried to make. That's exactly the opposite of the defensive tactic Syracuse threw at Vermont on Friday with its zone sets.

Coppenrath was clearly the Spartans' focus and 6-11 Paul Davis, 6-10 Drew Naymick and 6-6 Matt Trannon -- a tight end for the school's football team -- all bumped and bodied the Catamount star into a long afternoon.

"We knew they wanted to run their offense through him," said Davis. "We knew if we could get him to move his feet and make him uncomfortable, then we would have a good shot at winning. We thought our depth could wear them down."

MSU (24-6) held Vermont (25-7) to just 31-percent shooting. On offense, four players reached double figures with Maurice Ager leading the way with 19 points. Michigan State moves on to the Austin Regional and will play the Duke Blue Devils. Duke defeated Mississippi State, 63-55, yesterday.

Thanks to two quick 3-pointers from Sorrentine, the Catamounts began the game with the energy they threw at Syracuse on Friday when they captured the school's first NCAA tourney victory. But as coach Tom Brennan said, "It's hard to grab it again." Brennan said he realized Michigan State feared being sucked into his team's feel-good story that had captured the nation's attention just two days earlier and he knew Izzo had plenty of time to make sure it didn't happen again.

"Tom Izzo wasn't going to get into that pretty stuff," Brennan said. "They were going to come out and get in our snoot. We could never get it going."

Vermont's season didn't end without a few more thrills, most of which came courtesy of Sorrentine, who plays with the wide-open, aggressive aplomb of an Ernie DiGregorio. Vermont trailed, 20-14, before a 12-4 run highlighted by a Sorrentine fall-away jumper from the baseline and deep 3-pointer from the top of the key gave the underdogs a 26-24 lead. MSU rallied for a 35-28 halftime lead. Sorrentine scored 16 of Vermont's points.

"A big-time player stepped up and made some tough shots," Izzo said of Sorrentine, "but that wasn't for lack of [our] effort. He didn't have much room."

That room tightened even more in the second half as Ager, Kelvin Torbert and Shannon Brown all turned the screws on Sorrentine and he made just 3-of-12 shots in the second half. "They made it tough on you with their fresh bodies. They made everything tough on you," Sorrentine said.

While Martin Klimes (12 points) tried to help Coppenrath and Sorrentine, no one else showed up. Particularly absent was forward Germain Mopa Njila, who torched Syracuse for 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting. Yesterday, he missed all six of his shots and failed to score.

In the final few minutes, it was clear Vermont's ride was about to end. Even Izzo said he felt a sense of sadness as one of the country's best basketball stories closed up shop. "I'm glad it's over. I'll tell you, if I wasn't playing them, I'd be pulling for them," said Izzo.

Brennan, whose 19-year coaching career ended with the loss, kept his two senior stars on the floor to the buzzer. Both waved to the adoring crowds a few minutes after the game ended.

"Losing in the tournament shouldn't be devastating but it's my last year so it is disappointing," said Coppenrath. "We accomplished another goal by winning a game here, but it's tough. You don't want it to end."

VERMONT (61)

Coppenrath 5-23 6-10 16, Njila 0-6 0-0 0, Klimes 5-7 2-2 12, Sorrentine 9-23 2-2 26, Hehn 1-4 0-0 2, Cieplicki 0-1 0-0 0, Powlovich 0-0 0-0 0, Jensen 0-1 0-0 0, Schneider 1-2 0-0 2, Duell 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 22-70 10-14 61.

MICHIGAN ST. (72)

Ager 7-13 3-4 19, Anderson 2-4 7-8 11, Davis 5-12 1-2 11, Brown 3-6 0-0 6, Neitzel 3-3 0-0 6, Hill 1-5 0-0 2, Trannon 0-1 0-0 0, Torbert 5-11 4-6 14, Bograkos 0-0 0-0 0, Naymick 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 27-56 16-22 72.

Halftime -- MS 35-28. 3-pt. goals -- V 7-22 (Sorrentine 6-15, Duell 1-2, Coppenrath 0-1, Jensen 0-1, Schneider 0-1, Hehn 0-2), MS 2-12 (Ager 2-2, Anderson 0-2, Brown 0-2, Torbert 0-2, Hill 0-4). Fouled Out -- Klimes. Rebs -- V 41 (Coppenrath 14), MS 39 (Davis 14). Assists -- V 5 (Coppenrath, Njila 2), MS 12 (Neitzel 6). Total Fouls -- V 19, MS 16. A -- 13,008.