SYRACUSE — After the final buzzer sounded and Michigan State outlasted Louisville 76-70 in overtime, Travis Trice finally let it all go. Tears flowed out of his eyes and down his cheeks, the skinny senior guard unable to hold back his emotions as he leaned on his mother, as his father held him from behind.
“It was amazing,’’ said his mother, Julie Trice. “You don’t ever want to see your baby cry. However this, I was just ‘Let it go, baby. Just let it go.’ He claimed he wasn’t worthy. For such a time as this, Travis is so worthy of this.’’
Trice scored 17 points to lead the Spartans in Sunday’s East Regional final at the Carrier Dome and made two free throws with 10 seconds left to ensure Michigan State’s trip to Indianapolis for the Final Four. A year ago, he was despondent after the Spartans blew a late lead and lost to UConn one game short of the Final Four.
The tears were in part because he was able to turn last year’s failure into this year’s success.
“I was actually trying to hold it in,’’ Trice said. “I didn’t want to [cry], but if I look back at all I’ve been through the last four years — and not only myself, but my family and our team. We’ve been through a lot this year. So it was kind of a combination of all of those.’’
It has been quite a four-year journey for Trice and his family, a close-knit group from Huber Heights, Ohio. He survived a mysterious illness in the summer of 2012, losing weight, struggling with headaches and, for a time, wondering about his life as a brain infection ran its course.
“Very scary … extremely scary,’’ Julie Trice said. “He kept it from us because he was afraid it would worry us. I was nervous when I found out he was going to have to have a spinal tap. That’s a serious issue.
“I didn’t really notice the weight loss or the dark circles because we would see him sporadically over the course of it all. Looking back now, when I see pictures, you can see the dark circles under little Trav’s eyes and I was like ‘There it is.’ It’s hard as a mom to watch that but it’s awesome as a mom to see him come out of it.’’
His sophomore year was at times compromised by concussions. He worked his way up the playing time food chain, starting eight games as a junior and 32 of 38 this season. He leads the Spartans in scoring at 15.3 points a game and scored 15, 23 and 24 points in NCAA Tournament victories over Georgia, Virginia and Oklahoma. He was named the region’s Most Outstanding Player.
“As a coach, you kind of fall in love with the guys that remind you more of yourself,’’ Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “We’re kind of long shots.’’
Senior forward Branden Dawson said never before had he seen Trice cry. Freshman point guard Tum Tum Nairn a day earlier predicted Trice would cry after the Spartans won.
“I try to stay even keeled,’’ Trice said. “I’m mad that I did cry now.’’
He wasn’t alone in shedding a few.
“Tears of joy are amazing,’’ Julie Trice said, “and then mama cried.’’