Sparty party: MSU tops UConn

April 5, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

Canton McKinley High grad Raymar Morgan had 18 points for the Spartans.

DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan State players walked to the edge of the floor and held up their index fingers, basking in the love of an entire state.

Laid low by the economic crisis, Michigan desperately needed something to rally around. The Spartans were more than happy to oblige.

“It means so much, so much. It’s been all bad news the last couple of years,” said Magic Johnson, who sat just a few rows behind the Michigan State bench. “This was the right time, the right coach, the right team, the right mind-set.”

Canton McKinley High graduate Raymar Morgan broke out of his late-season slump with 18 points, Kalin Lucas added 21 and the smaller Spartans ran roughshod over Hasheem Thabeet and Connecticut in an 82-73 upset in the Final Four on Saturday night.

UConn (31-5) cut an 11-point deficit to 4 in 49 seconds, getting within 3 with a minute to go. But the outcome was never really in doubt. Durrell Summers, a Detroit native who experienced firsthand the hardships his city and state are enduring when both parents were laid off, converted a three-point play to put the game out of reach.

The Spartans (31-6) will play North Carolina for the NCAA title Monday night, giving the city and state at least two more days to forget all the bad news and revel in their Spartans’ success.

It’s Michigan State’s first appearance in the title game since 2000, when the Spartans won their second title.

How’s this for some karma? Johnson, Spartan-in-chief since leading Michigan State to its first title in 1979, will present the game ball before Monday’s title game along with Larry Bird.

“Detroit’s been unbelievable to us,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “We’ve had some great games here, and the best is yet to come.”

Flashbulbs were popping as the final seconds ticked down. The crowd of 72,456 was the largest-ever for a Final Four, and about two-thirds of it was wearing green.

“It was a memorable game that I won’t forget,” Izzo said. “Except we’ve got another one.”

The loss is the latest blow for UConn, the best team in the country until Jerome Dyson went down with a knee injury in mid-February.

The Huskies have been dealing with distractions since last May, when coach Jim Calhoun was diagnosed with his third bout with cancer, and are now facing questions about alleged recruiting violations.

The loss snapped Calhoun and Connecticut’s perfect run in the Final Four.

They’d made it twice before — 1999 and 2004 — and went on to win the title each time.

The UConn players walked slowly off the court, looking shell-shocked that their season had ended.

“I’ve got a lot of kids in there crying right now,” Calhoun said. “But they had a great season. It hasn’t been that easy to stay focused the past few weeks. But I give [Izzo] a great deal of credit.”