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CLEVELAND, Ohio (Ticker) -- Utah made a strong bid, but Mateen Cleaves took over in the second half and made sure top-seeded Michigan State punched a ticket to the "Sweet 16" for the third straight year. Cleaves scored 11 of his 21 points in a decisive second-half run as the Spartans posted a 73-61 victory over eighth-seeded Utah in a second-round Midwest Region game. Michigan State (28-7) will play Syracuse in the regional semifinals Thursday at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Cleaves, the 6-2, 205-pound quarterback of Michigan State's three "Sweet 16" teams, spearheaded a 27-7 run with a pair of 3-pointers, two jumpers and a free throw along with a steal and two assists. "I wasn't being aggressive in the first half, so I needed to come out in the second half and change that," Cleaves said. "I was thinking that it could be my last game and I didn't want to go out not playing aggressive. I wanted to force the issue and try to help out my teammates." Before Cleaves took matters into his own hands, Utah hit 17 of its first 27 shots and held a 43-37 lead early in the second half. However, in Michigan State's decisive run, Utah went cold from the field, missing 12 of 15 shots. A 3-pointer by Cleaves capped the spurt and gave Michigan State its biggest lead at 64-50 with 7:27 remaining. Utah (23-9) pulled no closer than nine the rest of the way. "Mateen does not get down and when he gets mad, it makes him a better player," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "Pushing the ball was the big key. When our wings were running with Mateen in the second half, it opened him to be more creative." Andre Hutson matched a season-high with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Morris Peterson added 13 for Michigan State, which shot 62 percent (13-of-21) in the second half when it outscored the Utes, 41-26. The Spartans, a Final Four team last season as a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, made it to the regional semifinals in 1998 as the fourth-seeded team in the East. "Michigan State has a very good chance to win the national championship," Utah coach Rick Majerus said. "We could not have lost to a better opponent tonight." Hanno Mottola led Utah with 16 points, but was held to six in the second half. Tony Harvey scored 15 points and Alex Jensen added 13. Utah came into the game as a heavy underdog, but surprised Michigan State with a motion offense that set up open jumpers and led for most of the first half. But after shooting 58 percent (13-of-23), Utah only held a 35-32 halftime advantage. "They had a lot of wide-open shots and they took advantage of our switches," Izzo said. "Maybe myself and the coaches should take the blame for that. But give Utah credit. They are a well-coached team." The Utes hit their first four shots of the second half and increased their lead to 43-37 after a jumper by Mottola with 17:50 left. Hutson scored on a layup and Cleaves converted a 3-pointer from the top of the key to pull Michigan State within 43-42. After the basket, Cleaves turned to his bench and verbally incited his teammates. While Michigan State stiffened its defense and forced Utah into off-balance shots, Cleaves made the highlight reel play of the game when he split two defenders with a crossover dribble and hit a driving scoop shot to give Michigan State a 44-43 lead with 15:25 left. A free throw by Charlie Bell increased the lead to two, but a layup by Harvey tied the game at 45-45 with 14:15 remaining. Michigan State scored the next five points on a free throw by Hutson, a 3-pointer by Peterson off a pass by Cleaves, and a free throw by Cleaves. After a basket by Mottola, A.J. Granger hit a 3-pointer and a short jumper and Bell converted a layup to give Michigan State a 57-47 lead with 9:39 left. Phil Cullen hit a 3-pointer to pull Utah within seven, but Cleaves again seized control with a foul line jumper. Hutson followed with a layup after Jensen missed a pair of free throws. Fittingly, Cleaves capped the 27-7 run over a stretch of 10:23 with a 3-pointer. "He does so much," Jensen said of Cleaves. "I think tonight he showed why he's an All-American. Especially in the second half when the game got close. He wasn't afraid to take the big shots or have the ball in his hands. To have a guy on your team like that kind of reminds me of when we had Andre Miller." Jensen and Harvey each hit 3-pointers in an 8-0 run which gave Utah a 17-11 lead. After Michigan State pulled within one on three occasions, Mottola and Jensen each hit a pair of free throws and Jeff Johnsen converted a layup to give Utah its biggest lead of the half at 33-27.
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