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BOX SCORE
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Mateen Cleaves couldn't bear the thought of
never playing another game in his Michigan State uniform.
And once Cleaves decided his college career wasn't ending
Saturday, Utah couldn't do anything to stop him.
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Sat, March 18
Michigan State got the scare it needed to move forward in the NCAA Tournament.
So, too, did Mateen Cleaves. The tournament's premier point guard was playing too passive in the first half, and as a result the the Spartans trailed at halftime. In the second 20 minutes, Cleaves became the aggressor -- beating Tony Harvey off the dribble at the point and getting to the basket on nearly
every possession.
He finished with 21 points, making 4 of 7 3s. Cleaves, usually a
more modest scorer, averaged only 11.7 points a game this season. Too often the Spartans have relied too much on Morris Peterson's scoring touch. This time, Cleaves made sure the emphasis was on his game.
With the ball in his hands, he had control of the outcome. He didn't let his teammates -- or every one else who picked the Spartans to win the tournament -- down, picking apart the
Utes in the second half.
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"It was like a demon came out of him or something," Spartans
forward Morris Peterson said.
Cleaves scored 21 points -- 13 in the second half -- as No. 1 seed
Michigan State rallied and earned a chance to play close to home
next week with a 73-61 win over Utah in the second round of NCAA
Midwest Regional.
Michigan State (28-7) will play Syracuse on Thursday in the
regional semifinals in Auburn Hills, Mich., about an 80-mile drive
from the Spartans' East Lansing campus.
The fourth-seeded Orangemen moved on Saturday with a 52-50
victory over fifth-seeded Kentucky.
"We're going back to friendly territory," Michigan State coach
Tom Izzo said. "Unfortunately, we'll never get enough tickets."
For a while, tickets were the least of Michigan State's
problems.
Utah (23-9), reduced to just seven scholarship players because
of injuries, led for most of the first half and had a three-point
advantage at the break.
That's when Izzo gave his players a pep talk they won't forget.
"He got in our faces, he got in the faces of everybody there,"
said Cleaves. "Thank God we were able to answer the bell."
Cleaves, the senior point guard who turned down NBA millions for
a chance to win an NCAA title, scored 11 points during 27-7 run
that put the Spartans in control and in the regional semis.
|  | | Mateen Cleaves, who scored a game-high 21 points for Michigan State, drives and dishes. |
During the spree, Cleaves did a little bit of everything. He
made a pair of 3-pointers, set up his teammates for easy baskets,
got the Michigan State crowd fired up and finally put away the
eighth-seeded Utes (23-9).
"That's why he's a great leader," said Syracuse center Etan
Thomas, who stuck around long enough to watch Michigan State open a
14-point lead in the second half.
Sitting in the locker room at haltime, the possibility of losing
hit Cleaves right between the eyes.
"When it's your senior year, all you start thinking about is,
'Man, this could be the last time on the floor. It could have been
my last game in the green and white. And I wasn't ready for that."
Andre Hutson added 19 points and Morris Peterson had 13 for
Michigan State, two victories away from getting back to a second
straight Final Four.
Hanno Möttölä led the Utes with 16 points, Tony Harvey had 15
and Alex Jensen 13 for the Utes, who shot 52 percent from the floor
and made just nine turnovers.
Utah didn't figure to have much of a chance. But coach Rick
Majerus prepared his team well and the Utes never backed down.
"All of the injuries just made our margin for error real
small," Jensen said.
Majerus, who cried during the postgame news conference talking
about his team's effort, had nothing but praise for Michigan State.
"If I could pick one team, I'd be the jockey for that horse,"
he said. "We've played the national champion four times in this
tournament. These guys have got the look of a national champ.
"They're awful damn good. There's a reason they are seeded No.
1. I really like their team. It must be fun to coach them."
Michigan State lost all three games it trailed at halftime
during the regular season, and when Utah made its first four shots
of the second half, the Spartans looked like they might be in
trouble.
But Cleaves, who made four 3-pointers, was about to change that.
His 3-pointer from the top of the key brought the Spartans
within 43-42 with 16:36 left, and as he retreated on defense,
Cleaves urged on the Michigan State cheering section and then
screamed "Let's Go!" and slapped hands with his teammates as they
passed him near midcourt.
"Mateen is the kind of player that can rise up," Izzo said.
"When he gets mad he's even better. He's an easy guy to
challenge."
Utah missed a chance to get some momentum back when Jeff Johnsen
fumbled an alley-oop pass, and after a timeout, Cleaves made sure
the Utes would never recover.
He split two defenders with a crossover dribble near the foul
line, and then ducked under Möttölä for a double-pumping layup to
give the Spartans a 44-43 lead -- their first since 11-9.
Sensing the kill, Michigan State, which held Valparaiso to
25-percent shooting in the first round, then turned up its
defensive pressure and suddenly the shots Utah was getting in the
first half were gone.
Peterson and A.J. Granger hit 3-pointers as Michigan State
opened a 57-47 lead, and Cleaves drained another trey with 7:30
remaining to make it 64-50.
A few moments later, Cleaves found Peterson for an alley-oop
dunk that punctuated the win and brought out two banners.
One said: "Next stop, Auburn Hills."
The other might have said it all: "Cleavesland, Ohio."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Utah NCAA Team Report
Michigan State NCAA Team Report
Chat: NCAA Tourney
Syracuse late stop ousts Kentucky
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Rick Majerus has his money on Michigan State.
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