NCAA Midwest: Michigan State roars past Syracuse

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - A haltime tirade by Mateen Cleaves got Michigan State turned around and kept the Spartans on track for a second straight trip to the Final Four. <br><br>The top-seeded Spartans, trailing

Thursday, March 23rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - A haltime tirade by Mateen Cleaves got Michigan State turned around and kept the Spartans on track for a second straight trip to the Final Four.

The top-seeded Spartans, trailing by as many as 14, roared back to beat Syracuse 75-58 on Thursday night in the Midwest Regional semifinals, scoring 17 straight points over the last 5:54.

"I had to pick up the pieces at halftime when I got to the locker room," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "Mateen did most of the challenging. He did a heck of a job in talking to them. He helps do my job when I'm not there."

Cleaves, who returned for his senior year with the express hope of winning a national championship, felt the Spartans were rushing their shots, not sticking with what they had done in practice.

"At halftime, I didn't think we were playing hard," Cleaves said. "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 in your face."

The Spartans (29-7) will play the UCLA-Iowa State winner on Saturday night for a trip to the Final Four in Indianapolis.

Syracuse (26-6) looked ready to run the Spartans right out of The Palace, to the dismay of a highly partisan Michigan State crowd. But Cleaves backed up his halftime talk with some championship style play early in the second half.

"They came out in the second half and made some big 3s," said Syracuse point guard Jason Hart, who had 11 points and 10 assists. "We held them off as long as we could."

Cleaves, scoreless in the first half, had 10 points - most of them early in the second half - to get the Spartans rolling. Morris Peterson had 16 of his 21 points in the second half.

Then Charlie Bell - who scored nine of his 12 points in the second half - put the Orangemen away.

Allen Griffin led Syracuse with 14 points. Etan Thomas, the shot-blocker the Spartans feared most, had seven points, six rebounds - and just two blocks.

The Spartans, who have won the Big Ten championship three straight years, trailed by 10 at halftime and were behind 40-26 after just 1:04 gone in the second half.

But the Spartans had been behind before.

They needed a second-half comeback to beat Utah on Saturday in the second round.

Could they do it again?

Peterson hit three 3-pointers, Cleaves hit two treys and A.J. Granger hit one as the Spartans roared back. A floater in the lane by Cleaves cut the Syracuse lead to 49-46 with 12:03 left.

Now, the game was on.

"The momentum swung their way," Hart said. "Morris Peterson hit some tough 3-point shots. I'd bet if he took some of those shots again, they wouldn't go in.

"But, big time players make big plays. He's a big time player."

Two straight baskets by Griffin gave Syracuse a five-point lead, but Granger's 3-pointer narrowed the gap to 54-53 with 8:58 left and Granger's layup cut it to one again, 56-55, with 7:04 remaining.

Bell, who needed acupuncture on his ailing left knee all week, finally put the Spartans ahead, 58-56, for the first time since early in the game with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc.

A layup by Hart tied it at 58-all moments later, setting up a final six minutes of joyous mayhem for the sellout crowd of 21,214 mostly green-and-white clad fans.

The Spartans, who shot 68 percent in the second half, took the lead for good on Bell's banker with 5:18 left, starting a game-ending 17-0 run. Bell also had a basket in the paint, followed by Peterson's 3-pointer that gave the Spartans a 63-58 lead and let the Orangemen know they were finished.

"I've watched college basketball for a long time," Syracuse guard Tony Bland said. "I think they're one of the best teams, not just that I saw play this year, but saw play in a long time.

"I think they have the elements they need to win a national championship."

The one thing the Spartans perhaps feared most - a cold shooting night - helped them go without a field goal for almost the final eight minutes of the first half until Granger's three-point play with 1.2 seconds remaining.

That sent Syracuse off with a 34-24 halftime lead.

The Orangemen's defense had a lot to do with Michigan State's poor shooting, as well. With Thomas blocking up the middle, the Spartans hit only three of their last 14 shots of the half, missing seven straight during one stretch.

Izzo, generally very animated along the sideline, spent the last two minutes of the half on the bench, his chin in his hand.

But when the game ended, however, Izzo and Cleaves were lost in a huge bear hug.