updated 12:14 a.m. ET March 23, 2008

DENVER - Michigan State’s brand of basketball is about more than simply beating people up.

When the game was on the line, Drew Neitzel and Kalin Lucas were Exhibits 1 and 1A.

The Michigan State guards put on a late shooting-and-ballhandling display to help the fifth-seeded Spartans pull away from Pittsburgh for a 65-54 victory Saturday night in the South Regional.

With Neitzel hitting from long range and Lucas driving for layups, the senior and freshman combined for 21 of their team’s final 25 points to help the Michigan State (27-8) win a battle of the bullies — a rough-and-tumble game between two Rust Belt teams who brought their show to the Rocky Mountains.

“I just wanted to be aggressive,” Neitzel said. “That’s what this team needs from me. Coach has been preaching that.”

Neitzel led the Spartans with 21 points, and Lucas finished with 19.

Levance Fields had 19 points for fourth-seeded Pitt (27-10), which had won six straight.

With his team leading by one, Neitzel scored Michigan State’s next eight points — including an amazing shake-and-bake move to get a sliver of shooting room between himself and Ronald Ramon — to give the Spartans a five-point lead with 4 minutes left.

Moments after Neitzel’s skein, Lucas drove to the basket for a layup, then the two combined when Neitzel picked up a loose ball and fed it ahead to Lucas for an uncontested layup — one of the very few easy scores in this hotly contested game — for a 59-52 lead.

Video   Pitt gets Izzo'd March 23: Tom Izzo, considered to be one of the best tournament coaches, guides team to big win over favored Pitt. NBC Sports

On the next possession, as if to prove these guys really do make their living playing the brutish defense Tom Izzo’s teams are known for, the guards combined on the final blow. Neitzel reached in to redirect Fields — who found himself slamming directly into Lucas. The ref called a charge and, cruelly and almost appropriately, the play ended with Fields on the ground writhing in pain.

Pitt lost the ball on offensive fouls four times down the stretch.

“Lucas did a great job getting position,” Fields said. “He got the call. It could have gone either way, but he did a good job on defense.”

The 11-point margin wasn’t indicative of how close this game was for a long time.

Pitt trailed 40-30 with 15 minutes left, but went on a 14-2 run to take a lead.

“We were up two with the ball,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “Had a couple good looks. Couldn’t knock ’em down.”

Instead, Lucas followed with a three-point play to put the Spartans back ahead. Then, Neitzel went off with his eight straight points to help Izzo’s team start pulling away.

Neitzel struggled in MSU’s first-round win over Temple, shooting 2-for-11, but said after practice Friday that he shot well and wouldn’t let one bad game get him down.

His line in this one: 6-for-13 from the field, but 5-for-8 from 3-point range. He also had four rebounds and four assists, and Michigan State made the regional semis for the seventh time in 11 seasons.

The Spartans will play the winner of Sunday’s game between Memphis and Mississippi State next week in Houston.

“I’m jacked for the guys,” Izzo said. “When you push guys so hard, sometimes you kind of feel sorry for them. Thank God I didn’t let that get to me too much, because this is what it takes.”

The Panthers, meanwhile, watched a nice season and a string in which they were considered among the hottest teams in the country come to a sudden end. It wasn’t for lack of effort.

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