How UVM basketball upset Syracuse in the 2005 NCAA tournament

Editor's note: The following story was originally published in March 2015 to mark the 10th anniversary of the University of Vermont's historic upset of Syracuse in the NCAA tournament.

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Tom Brennan was in his final week as the University of Vermont men's basketball coach. The Catamounts had just learned of their opponent for the first round of the 2005 NCAA tournament, and a phone call from a legendary coach came by surprise.

"Tommy," the crackling voice on the other end of the line said, "it's Tark."

Jerry Tarkanian had reached out to the UVM icon, who was busy preparing for Syracuse and its vaunted 2-3 zone. The matchup had the ominous potential to be the last chapter of a 19-year stint in Burlington for the good-natured, wise-cracking Brennan, who planned to follow the best team in program history out the door at season's end.

The national media — from ESPN to Sports Illustrated to the Boston Globe — had given those outside Vermont a full-frame portrait of a team easy to root for come tournament time. So why not take a moment and hear from the famous UNLV Runnin' Rebels' coach?

"He called me out of the blue and he threw me off," Brennan recalled.

Tarkanian told the UVM coach, 'Listen, that zone ain't all that, I can help with some things. It's got this reputation, but a zone is a zone and if you move the ball you'll be all right.'

Tarkanian, who passed away on Feb. 11 after a Hall of Fame career, didn't dispense to Brennan any elixir to solve an Orange scheme that troubled even the best teams in the nation.

"It was nothing earth-shattering, things we already knew, but for him to call us ...," Brennan said. "I told him I couldn't thank him enough. I was blown away."

But it was the Catamounts, the top squad from the one-bid America East Conference for the third year running, who blew up March Madness brackets across America.

T.J. Sorrentine hit one "from the parking lot." Germain Mopa Njila had the game of his life. Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont's native son, sank the tying jumper inside a minute left in regulation. And Brennan — affectionately called "Coach" — rode off into the sunset, arms raised high, after UVM punctuated a magical season with an exhilarating overtime upset of the Orange.

Vermont 60, Syracuse 57.

"I would argue it was one of the top 10 games I've seen in the NCAA tournament," said ESPN's Andy Katz, who wrote several stories on the Catamounts that winter. "I might be biased because I grew up in New England, but UVM was not a school you thought of that could win an NCAA tournament game.

"There was the local kid in Coppenrath, there was Sorrentine and Brennan being Brennan. It all meshed into a great story, for the state, for New England and certainly for college basketball."

— COLUMN: Memories from UVM basketball's golden season

— VOICES: Former Free Press staffers remember UVM-Syracuse showdown

Ten years later, arguably the greatest win in Vermont sports history shines just as brightly as it did on March 18, 2005.

But how did No. 13 Vermont — with a coach who retired with a losing record, a big man from tiny West Barnet in the Northeast Kingdom, a point guard who was overlooked in his home state of Rhode Island and role players drawn from three continents — take down fourth-seeded Syracuse?

THE FIRST HALF

Early shooting woes plague Vermont at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass. UVM goes just 1 of 9 on 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes.Sorrentineburies his first points on a trey with 2:45 to go that caps a 9-0 Cats run after Syracuse opens its biggest lead. … During the spurt,Sorrentine also tosses up analley-oop forMopaNjila, who flashes signs of his dialed-in approach after hauling in seven rebounds before the 12-minute mark. … However,HakimWarrick's three-point play before the break gives the Orange a 23-19 lead.

That four-point deficit was fine by the Cats. At least for Sorrentine and reserve Alex Jensen.

Before the game, Jensen laid out an argument that called for UVM to trail at the half, rather than stake an early lead. His reasoning? Let Syracuse, two years removed from a national championship and a trendy Final Four again, think it was in control. Don't wake up a sleeping giant.

"That was one of our things before every game. We'd always sit next to each other in the locker room," Sorrentine said of chats with Jensen. "He just said, 'if we go in with the lead, they are going to come out and just blitz us.' That was all him — I trusted him."

And it spoke to the team's bond, one fostered over four years, through gym time, winning and losing, euphoria and glory.

Jensen, undone by injuries, served as another coach on the bench, keeping Sorrentine's confidence high. Ontario native David Hehn, the team's best defender, receded from the spotlight after his game-winning shot in the closing seconds beat Boston University in the 2003 America East championship game, clinching UVM's first NCAA berth.

"Our team really knew who each other were. We knew who were the stars and supporting cast," Hehn said. "The way we were so successful was because everybody knew their roles and knew how to play them."

But on-court cohesion can only take a team so far. UVM treated practices as all business.

"I look back at where they came from as freshmen and how hard they worked on a day-in-and-day-out basis and they earned everything they got," associate head coach Jesse Agel said. "It was all about the hard work, the stuff no one sees in practice, they attacked like it was a game."

Vermont was also motivated from losses to other big-time schools. The season-opening loss at Kansas was a winnable game. So was UCLA a year earlier. The Nevada defeat in the ESPN BracketBusters series was also tough to swallow.

"We played well in some of those games and came up short. We were more determined against Syracuse because we lost those close games to those top teams in the nation," Coppenrath said. "I was motivated more so because it was the NCAA tournament and I felt we were owed a big win ..."

THE SECOND HALF

When the first half concluded, Vermont had forced 12 Orange turnovers. Syracuse's sloppy play continues, asSorrentineandMopaNjila hit back-to-back 3s to put UVM in front, 30-27, for the first time in the second half. … OnMopaNjila's3-pointer,Sorrentine extends the possession after picking up his own missed shot and then working it around for another attempt.

At Patrick Gym, the Catamounts were more of an uptempo team, energized by the sellout crowds. But on the road, UVM ratcheted up its man-to-man defense.

Vermont's scoring defense in 2004-05 was 62.1 points a game, a respectable number that dipped to a shade over 60 in the team's 13 road games. And that includes the blowout loss to eventual national champion North Carolina (93 points) and Maine (87) in the regular-season finale.

The fact was, the Catamounts had everything you'd want in a great defensive team. Coppenrath and sophomore Martin Klimes presented strength and smarts in the paint while Mopa Njila and Hehn were skilled, athletic defenders on the wing, said current UVM assistant coach Kyle Cieplicki, a redshirt freshman in 2005.

"That was the hallmark of our team that year," Cieplicki said. "That was our strength."

Agel: "I think our defense was totally underrated. When we were on the road, we were very focused and we won those games in a more systematic fashion."

Vermont begins to seize control and, despite shooting 32 percent from the floor, takes a 35-29 lead whenSorrentinesinks a long 3-pointer with 11 minutes to go. … Later, Terrence Roberts dunks with two hands and incurs a questionable technical foul for hanging on the rim.Sorrentine makes both foul shots to push UVM to a five-point lead, 38-33. …Sorrentinemakes another 3-pointer, for a 41-36 lead with 5:50 to go, his third long bomb in the second half.

Figuring out how to score on Syracuse kept Agel busy for two days.

"I never worried about stopping them, I worried about scoring against them," Agel said. "If they played their best and we played our best, we wouldn't be having this discussion 10 years later."

The Orange had size and length, making it hard for UVM to get an uncontested shot, especially on the perimeter. Ryan Schneider, now in his second year on UVM's coaching staff, saw two minutes of action against Syracuse and hoisted up two shots, each well off the mark from beyond the arc.

"I remember how long Hakim Warrick was. By the time you catch and rise up, he's got a piece of it," Schneider said.

UVM's five-point lead evaporates quickly when Gerry McNamara sinks a 3-pointer, his only trey in a 4-of-18 performance, and Roberts slams one in for the tie, 41-all. ... Mopa Njila responds with a strong drive and then a steal and breakaway, two-hand flush for a 45-41 UVM cushion with 4:46 to play. ... After Syracuse battles back to regain the lead, Mopa Njila jump-stops into the lane, splits two defenders and knocks down a runner for the tying bucket, 49-49, with 90 ticks to go.

Mopa Njila, a Cameroon native who averaged under six points a game, shook off some early turnovers after being tentative, telling himself to be more aggressive. It wasn't, in Mopa Njila's view, to take over and be the star. The reserved senior with the easy, megawatt smile took advantage of his opportunities.

"It was just the way the game went. I didn't go into the game thinking, 'I'm hot, I need to take shots,'" Mopa Njila said. "That game, I just felt I had to do something."

Without Mopa Njila's performance, Vermont doesn't beat Syracuse.

"He was so great that night. I was like look at this guy, my boy, go on now and do what you gotta do," Brennan said. "When you look back at his career, every time it was a big game, he came through. He just always did."

Mopa Njila didn't miss a shot in the second half, finished 9 of 10 for a team-high 20 points to go along with nine rebounds, five assists and four steals, also team-bests.

"We couldn't look just to T.J. and Taylor to carry us," Mopa Njila said. "When the game was going on, I just realized not to hesitate to shoot the ball or pass up opportunities, and that's what I did."

Warrick drives and throws down a big dunk to push the Orange in front, 51-49. ThenCoppenrath, with his trademark jump shot — ball cocked well behind his head — coolly splashes an elbow jumper for the tying points with 55 seconds left in regulation. ...Warrick has another chance to return the lead to Syracuse, butKlimesabsorbs an elbow from the Big East player of the year and an offensive foul is called.

Klimes was left with a broken nose, but it was worth it. By that point, Klimes, a third-year sophomore, had frustrated Warrick, who found ways to score and rebound but committed 10 of Syracuse's 24 turnovers. Much of that credit goes to Klimes.

"He was such a tough kid. He just played his heart out," said Brennan of Klimes, a Czech Republic native.

When asked about holding his own against Warrick, Klimes was quick to point out the future NBA player was still a force.

"If I remember it correctly, he scored 21 points on me, and I think he dunked on me as well. So how much I held my own is questionable," Klimes said. "My job was to make his life miserable and make him earn every inch on the floor, which I believe I did."

FollowingWarrick'scharge, Brennan calls timeout to set up a play for the potential go-ahead basket.MopaNjila takes a feed fromCoppenrath, drives baseline for the layup but steps out of bounds on the way to the hoop with 3.7 seconds left.

Inches away from being the hero, Mopa Njila regrouped quickly, knowing Syracuse had enough time to get into shooting range.

"I was just thinking, 'I hope they don't make a crazy basket, we need to get to overtime," Mopa Njila said.

McNamara's running 3-pointer at the buzzer is off the mark. Overtime in Worcester.

"I remember thinking, honestly, I thought we had already won," Brennan said. "They want to go five more, we'll go five more. They want to go 10 more, we'll go 10 more. Whatever it takes.

"Can we win it again?"

OVERTIME

The recorded crowded of 13,009 had its share of UVM and Syracuse fans. The neutral spectators, including those in support of Old Dominion and Michigan State, the other teams in that Friday night session, began to favor a Catamount win.

"The longer we hung around, the more the whole place started rooting for us," Brennan said. "By the middle of the second half, we had more people rooting for us than them. It was like a home game."

UVM's first possession of the five-minute overtime yields a bucket on aKlimesfloater.

"That was a big thing, because we didn't want to be down — that would have been a big mountain to climb," Brennan said.

The Cats' lead was short-lived.Warricksnatches a loose ball and finishes and then McNamara picks up a steal, one ofUVM's 15 turnovers, and races for a reverse layup, 55-53 Orange with 3:25 to go. ... Two possessions later,Sorrentine fakes a 3-pointer, drives and bounces pass toMopaNjila, who, in rhythm, launches trey that cuts through the net for a 56-55 UVM lead with under two minutes to play.

"I was locked in. I was really, really locked in," Mopa Njila said. "I didn't want to lose that game."

As Syracuse begins to run its next play, CBS play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson says, "GermainMopaNjila... having the game of a lifetime." Johnson's partner, color analyst LenElmore, follows with, "MopaNjiladoesn't want to go home." And then, almost on cue,MopaNjilacorralsWarrick's ill-timed pass in the paint.

"When Syracuse would make runs, I remember feeling, just for a brief second, I cannot accept that, I cannot let that happen," Mopa Njila said. "I didn't want to go through" another NCAA tournament loss.

Time had yet to stop in overtime, a fast-paced, edge-of-seat conclusion thatground to a standstill of anticipation asSorrentinedribbled near mid-court.Hehn, puzzled, looks at the bench and then atSorrentine. For 16 seconds,Sorrentine barely moves, as chants of "UVM, UVM, UVM!" bounce off the arena walls.

The call from the bench was to run a play called "Red," where Sorrentine would have tossed to Hehn on the wing to initiate the offense that featured two screens, a flare on one wing and then another at the backside of the zone. If it worked, Hehn would lob a pass over the top to the left wing for Sorrentine to attempt a 3-point try.

"It never got one bounce in that direction," Agel said. "I had a feeling what he was going to do, but I had no idea it was going to be from that far out."

Neither did Sorrentine.

"There was no thought in my mind to pass the ball. There was no way I was giving up that ball," Sorrentine said. "We were up one at that point and I wanted to try and get it to a two-possession game.

"I wanted to take four or five more seconds off the shot clock, but they started to creep out and I had to let it go."

After a rhythm dribble through his legs, the gunner unloads from 28 feet.The ball, in the air for two full seconds, arcs over the zone and straight for the hearts of Orange Nation. On air, Johnson, caught off-guard, hisses like a fuse: "Tsssssssssssssss—"

Brennan was left to pray for Sorrentine's shot to fall.

"I didn't know he was going to turn and fire, I had no idea," Brennan said. "Like I tell everybody, once it left his hands, I had to root for it. I had no choice.

"That was our boy, and that was our shot. I had to root for it to go in, and thankfully it did."

"—Oh, my goodness!" Johnson explodes. "Sorrentine, hit that one from the parking lot!"

Vermont 59, Syracuse 55. Sorrentine's outrageous 3-pointer resulted in the first stoppage in overtime, with 1:06 to play.

Yet, the Catamounts still have work to do to close out their first NCAA tournament win. Josh Pace cuts the deficit to 59-57 with a basket in the lane. But McNamara's backcourt violation with 15.9 seconds remaining is the 24th Orange turnover. ...Klimes gets to the line and knocks down 1 of 2 foul shots — the first a swish, the second an airball — and UVM holds firm on McNamara's double-clutch 3-point try that clangs off the front of the rim and bounces out of bounds following a brief scramble. … With four-tenths of a second left,Hehn in-bounds and heaves past half-court and into the waiting arms ofCoppenrath. Ballgame.

"I remembered when I was younger filling out brackets and watching upsets with my dad and thinking how great that would be to be in a game like that," Coppenrath said. "It was probably a dream of mine to be in that moment but part of me back then didn't think it would have been possible."

THE AFTERMATH

Sorrentine's on-court celebration — he was seen tugging on his jersey racing around — was brief. He ran off and was the first inside UVM's locker room.

"I just stayed in there for a few minutes and I had a moment with myself. I was happy for my teammates, family and coach Brennan," Sorrentine said. "That was the only moment I had for those three days, and I'm glad I did it. It was just a whirlwind."

For the Catamounts, this was their national championship. They partied. The next night, thanks to a police escort, UVM and its traveling party hit the road for a steak dinner at Morton's in Boston.

In shootaround the next day, as UVM prepared to face Michigan State, Sorrentine returned to that very spot and didn't even hit the hoop with his first attempt.

"Didn't even come close," Sorrentine said. "That's the beauty of the NCAA tournament and college basketball. That was the biggest thing, living in the moment."

A tongue-in-cheek Hehn, referring to his game-winner two years prior, said: "T.J. doesn't get to take his shot, if I don't make mine."

There is truth to that, however, Brennan said. UVM won its first league title and NCAA tournament berth on Hehn's baseline pull-up jumper with 5.6 seconds left in the title game.

"Hehn made the biggest shot in school history. If he doesn't make that shot, who knows what happens next?" Brennan ponders. "You gotta win the first one to win the first one."

Since the 2005 class graduated, the winning hasn't stopped inside Patrick Gym. The Catamounts remain one of the best mid-major programs — six straight 20-win seasons, two more NCAA tournament appearances — and the memories from Brennan and Co. are held up as the gold standard.

They were basketball royalty. Brennan said his team was Vermont basketball's version of the Beatles. And just as likeable.

"The one reason I love those kids more than anything was they were exactly who they appeared to be," Brennan said. "They played hard, they weren't jerks and we caught lightning in a bottle."

Ten years later, Hehn remains stunned of the team's accomplishments and how they touched the community.

"I don't think anybody had those expectations of three NCAA tournaments, a first-round win, nationally-televised games," Hehn said. "It's much more than an honor, it's hard to articulate, it's hard to explain what I got to experience.

"To be treated like kings is something I will always be thankful for."

Alex Abrami covers UVM basketball for the Free Press. Contact Abrami at 660-1848 or aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/aabrami5

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