Extra, extra

WORCESTER -- It was all planned. Applause at the start of the game. One last 40-minute trip up and down the court, and then a goodbye to the sellout DCU Center crowd in last night's NCAA Austin Regional first-round game against Syracuse.

But a strange thing happened on the way to the end of Tom Brennan's coaching career. His Vermont Catamounts botched the plans, and Brennan will have to save his farewell speech for another day.

Vermont, champion of the America East Conference, stunned fourth-seeded Syracuse, 60-57, in overtime.

Next up for the 13th-seeded Catamounts (25-6) is a meeting tomorrow afternoon against Michigan State, which beat Old Dominion, 89-81, last night.

"Synergy, the stars being aligned, that stuff means something," said Brennan, who announced his retirement at the start of the season.

Who is going to argue with him?

When the NCAA brackets were announced last Sunday, the Catamounts and their fans knew Syracuse, the Big East tournament champion, which boasted conference player of the year Hakim Warrick and the long-range shooting of Gerry McNamara, would be a tough matchup.

But that overpowering Syracuse team never showed up last night. Warrick was a prime example, recording a dubious triple-double of 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 turnovers for a team that committed 24 turnovers, including mistakes at the most crucial times.

For Vermont, it was another chapter in the success story of the last three years, with Taylor Coppenrath (16 points) and T.J. Sorrentine (17) guiding the Catamounts to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. And this time, senior forward Germain Mopa Njila joined the party, scoring a career-high 20 points, including a basket that gave Vermont a 56-55 lead with two minutes left in overtime.

But it was Sorrentine who provided the exclamation point, burying a 3-pointer from well beyond the top of the key with 1:11 left in the OT.

The Orange held only a 23-19 lead at intermission and quickly fell behind in the second half as Vermont, which had only four players who scored, kept applying pressure.

But when Vermont turned the ball over with 3.7 seconds left as Mopa Njila stepped on the baseline with the score tied at 51-51, even Brennan thought Vermont's season could very well end in overtime, since Syracuse had fought back to tie the game.

"When we went to overtime, I thought it was time to pack our bags," said Brennan. "But we were able to come out on top."

When Mopa Njila put Vermont up, 56-55, the feeling was one of cautious optimism. But after a turnover by Warrick on a steal by Mopa Njila, Vermont had a chance for the knockout punch.

And then with 1:11 left, Sorrentine hit his long 3-pointer, which gave Vermont a 59-55 lead the Orange could not overcome.

Not that Syracuse didn't try. It got a quick jumper from Josh Pace to cut the lead to a basket with 1:01 left, but then another turnover by the normally reliable McNamara, on a backcourt violation when the ball bounced off his foot, gave Vermont possession.

With 13 seconds left, a foul shot by Martin Klimes gave the Catamounts a 3-point lead. And this time there were no miracles for Syracuse.

"They did a good job defensively," said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. "We just made too many mistakes."

For Brennan and the Catamounts, it was a night worth remembering, long after the season ends.

As for future plans, Brennan would only look ahead to tomorrow.

"I think we can win," he said. "I really do."