It's a three-peat for Catamounts

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Sweet fortune wrapped him in a warm embrace, and all Tom Brennan could do yesterday was weep.

Coaching the last game on his home court at the University of Vermont, Brennan had just guided the Catamounts to an 80-57 rout of Northeastern for their third straight America East title and NCAA Tournament berth. And while the capacity crowd of 3,266 surged onto the hardwood in a celebratory frenzy, Brennan, who is retiring after a 19-year career, was so overcome with emotion he barely could speak.

Blame it on the big guns he calls Butch and Sundance: Taylor Coppenrath and T.J. Sorrentine. Like Brennan, the fifth-year seniors competed for the last time on their home court, ending a sensational run in which they helped put basketball on the map in Vermont and give their coach a memorable retirement gift by transforming him from a symbol of futility to a local folk hero.

"I love these kids no end for what they've done for me personally and how they've taken me on this magic carpet ride," Brennan said.

"What happened here is a phenomenon beyond belief."

After launching his Vermont career by losing 50 of his first 58 games, Brennan has notched his fourth straight season with 21 or more wins, thanks largely to the 6-foot-9-inch Coppenrath, the conference's three-time player of the year, and Sorrentine, the feisty point guard, team captain, and 3-point specialist. The roommates struck again against Northeastern as Coppenrath torched the Huskies with 37 points and Sorrentine added 11 points, 4 assists, and some early fire with a two-handed shove of star point guard Jose Juan Barea in a skirmish for a loose ball.

"I feel lucky this has been such a great run," Coppenrath said, after he was named the tournament's most outstanding player on his journey toward the NBA or pro ball in Europe. "It's been a lot of fun."

The Catamounts (24-6) retreated after the game to a party at Brennan's home on Lake Champlain. They will reconvene tonight at a downtown restaurant to learn their first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament. They appear destined to secure at least a 12th seed, their highest ever, after losing to second-seeded Connecticut last year as a 15th seed and to top-seeded Arizona in 2003 as a 16th seed.

Vermont won its third straight America East title, joining Drexel (1994-96) and Northeastern (1984-87) as the only teams to accomplish the feat.

"Until the day I die, I will never forget today," Brennan said. "When we did it the first time, I thought, `Man, this is neat.' When we did it the second time, I thought, `This is unbelievable.' The third time, I'm thinking, `God almighty, how does this keep happening?' "

Northeastern appeared nearly as perplexed. Within minutes of Brennan striding out of Vermont's locker room to his signature anthem -- Van Morrison's "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)" -- the Green Mountain gang seized control of the game. Northeastern never led and tied the score only once, 2-2, before it spiraled out of contention.

The Huskies (21-9) made their first appearance in a conference title game since 1991.

"Quite frankly, we played like a team that hasn't been here before and they played like a team that has been here twice already," Northeastern coach Ron Everhart said. "They made us pay for every mistake we made, and we made a lot of them defensively."

The Huskies now must hope for an NIT bid, though Everhart worried their chances may have been hurt by their poor performance in the nationally televised game.

"I would hope we are deserving," he said. "I think we are a lot better than we played today."

The Huskies entered the game planning to quiet Coppenrath by double- and triple-teaming him. But in holding Coppenrath to 12 points in the first half, they created opportunities for Vermont's 6-9 Czech sophomore, Martin Klimes, who scored a career-high 15 points, all before the break.

As a consequence, Northeastern opted for solo coverage of Coppenrath in the second half. That gambit also failed as Coppenrath all but scored at will, going 11 for 15 from the floor after the break as the crowd alternated between chants of "Thank you, Taylor," "Thank you, T.J.," and "Thank you, Brennan."

The Huskies had little to be thankful for as they fell behind by 19 points in the first half and failed to creep closer than 12 points after the break as the Catamounts dominated every phase of the game. Vermont outrebounded Northeastern, 41-28, and prevented Everhart's high-paced offense from scoring on the fast break.

The Huskies have lost their last nine games in Vermont since 1997.

"It's always a difficult place to play, but I didn't think we would react the way we did today," Everhart said. "I was a little surprised by that."

No one struggled for Northeastern more than senior guard Marcus Barnes, who went 2 for 11 and mustered only 6 points. But the crushing blow for the Huskies came when Barea, who led Northeastern with 14 points, sprained his right ankle and was assisted to the locker room with 13:58 to play and didn't return. Barea was named to the all-tournament team with Coppenrath, Sorrentine, Klimes, and Vermont's Germain Mopa Njila.

"That was kind of the turning point," Coppenrath said of Barea's injury.

"We knew we could kind of keep going and play like we play."

It was enough to make a grown man cry.