Twenty-four years in college coaching didn't prepare Jud Heathcote for the premature end to his career.
Although the 67-year-old Michigan State coach held his composure while his two star players wept during a postgame news conference, Heathcote clearly was frustrated after Friday night's 79-72 loss to Weber State in the opening round of the NCAA Southeast Regional."Hey, we're devastated. I'm sorry for the seniors and I'm sorry for myself," he said as All-American Shawn Respert and backcourt mate Eric Snow wept and consoled one another.
"I knew going in it would be over when it was over, but I didn't think it would be this soon. I thought we would make a run in the tournament," Heathcote added. "We talked about Seattle (Final Four), but you've got to play better than we did to win big basketball games."
Ruben Nembhard scored 27 points and Jimmy DeGraffenried made three 3-pointers on his way to 12 second-half points that helped the Big Sky Conference champions pull off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.
Michigan State (22-6) joined Villanova as the highest seeds to bow out in their opening game. The third-seeded Spartans led the No. 14 Wildcats 46-37 at halftime, but were outscored 26-7 in the first 91/2 minutes of the second half.
"I'm not surprised they were good, but they were better than we expected them to be," said Heathcote.
The victory was the first in the NCAA Tournament in 16 years for Weber State, but coach Ron Abegglen played down the magnitude in deference to Heathote.
"They're a great ballclub, and I do not want to be remembered as the guy who beat Jud Heathcote in his last game. I respected him a long time," Abegglen said. "I'm tickled for my team."
Respert put on a dazzling 3-point shooting performance in scoring 16 first-half points, but Weber State extended its zone defense after halftime and the Big Ten scoring leader didn't make another shot until dropping in the sixth of his seven 3-pointers with 9:25 remaining.
By that time, Weber State (21-8) had built a 10-point lead that Michigan State would trim to 62-61 on Respert's first two-point basket. The senior finished with 28 points, including a 3-pointer that cut Weber State's advantage to 74-72 in the final minute.
The Wildcats didn't crack under the pressure, though. Nembhard and Kirk Smith each hit two free throws and DeGraffenried made one in the last 32 seconds to put the game away.
"We felt comfortable after there weren't any seconds left on the clock," said Nembhard, the Big Sky's player of the year. "Down the stretch we were able to do what we needed to do."
Heathcote ended his long career with a 340-220 record in 19 years at Michigan State and a 420-273 mark overall.
After shooting 69 percent in the opening half, Michigan State cooled to 41 percent in the second half. Respert was 10-of-23 from the field, 7-of-17 on 3-point attempts.
Jamie Feick scored 11 points and Quinton Brooks had 10 for the Spartans.
DeGraffenreid finished with 15 points for Weber State, which also got 14 from Lewis Lofton.
Respert had five field goals in the opening half - all 3-pointers. And when Weber State brought its defense out to try to contain him, the 6-foot-3 guard did a good job of getting the ball to his teammates.
By late in the half when Respert made a NBA-distance 3-pointer and sank a free throw to complete a 4-point play, the sellout crowd at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center had begun to urge him to shoot any time he appeared to have room to get off an attempt.
Respert led the Big Ten with 112 3-pointers, and his shooting percentage from that distance (.479) was the second-best in the league. Weber State's perimeter defense was poor all season, but the Wildcats were able to offset Michigan State's nine 3-pointers with 10 of their own.
The tournament appearance was the first in 12 years for Weber State, which won the Big Sky's automatic berth. Before Friday night, the Wildcats hadn't won a NCAA game since 1979 - the same year Heathcote and Magic Johnson led Michigan State to its only national championship.