Penn State Men’s Basketball: Harrar the Difference in 62-58 Comeback Victory over No. 19 Michigan State

Theoretically you can play the fantasy horror video game Dark Souls an infinite number of times, each run the enemies are slightly more difficult to defeat, only matched by your character’s own progression of ever increasing strength and wit.

But that first time through you are in over your head, it’s only until you gather more experience that you can begin to truly match your adversaries.

John Harrar is that Dark Souls character, forged of failure and experience, the product of nearly five Big Ten seasons. Harrar has lost so many times that he doesn’t fear it; he has won so many times that the knows what it takes.

If Harrar was the rare lottery pick who decided to play five seasons of college basketball this might not be so remarkable because eventually he would end up in the NBA, fulfilling some larger destiny. But Harrar is who he is. What he lacks for in flashy athleticism he makes up for in effort, what he lacks finesse or touch he makes up for with brute strength. Harrar will probably end up playing basketball after Penn State somewhere else because he is too strong and hard working not to, but he is limited in ways he will likely never overcome. He is the college basketball player who is playing because he loves it, but he is also racing towards the moment when basketball will become the thing he used to do.

The brilliance of Harrar is the fact none of these things keep him from being one of the most important players on the floor any given night. Harrar is the exception to a rule, he is an outlier among bigger and better players. It’s in this fact that make things like his 16-point, 16-rebound effort against Michigan State on Tuesday night so great. The rule says that guys who can’t jump that high or generally don’t shoot from beyond three feet aren’t going dominate.

And yet as Penn State left the Bryce Jordan Center floor with a 62-58 upset over No. 19 Michigan State, turning a 14-point deficit into a fifth Big Ten win, it was hard to deny who was the driving force in the winning effort.

Emphasis on effort.

“There’s no question John Harrar was the difference in the game,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said after the fact. “And you know, he’s done something that’s illegal now. He’s gone through the process [of staying in school]. He’s done a nice job, he’s got better every year, doesn’t complain about what he’s doing. Just keeps getting stronger and better.”

The game itself was not much different than so many that Harrar had played in before. Penn State and Michigan State turned the first half into a slog, the Nittany Lions happy to drain the clock, making just enough timely shots that a 24-24 halftime score felt like a lead. Penn State was in the kind of game that it wanted to be in, ugly, but not too ugly.

But like so many games before, the better team — at least on paper — came out in the second half and started to do what it does well. The Spartans went up by 14 with 13:20 left in regulation. Penn State went cold. Michigan State got just warm enough.

What neither team fully grasped in the moment was that the tide had slowly turned a few minutes earlier as Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry collected a long-time-coming technical foul, finally exploding over a foul call that wasn’t. By the end of the night Penn State outscored Michigan by 15 following that technical.

“We’ve got you coach,” guard Myles Dread told Shrewsberry.

And Penn State did, locking down on defense and turning in a final 13 minutes that saw the Nittany Lions make 12 of their final 19 shots from the field, none bigger than a rebound and put-back by Harrar with 35 seconds to go to put Penn State up three and then up four at the free throw line. It was a powerful rebound, a forceful finish and a thunderous roar that followed as the ball went through the basket. It marked the biggest moment in Penn State’s 12-6 run in the final 4:23 of regulation.

Penn State would never relinquish the lead.

“He’s a warrior. He gives you everything he has,” Shrewsberry said after the game of Harrar.

Around the big man, Penn State managed sold efforts from Seth Lundy (16 points) Jalen Pickett (10 points) and Sam Sessoms (9 points). It was an all-around effort as the Nittany Lions turned the ball over just eight times and created seven steals.

But it’s Harrar that strikes the romance into a cold Tuesday evening in State College. A guy who has no business being the player that he has become, willing his way to victory yet again, ready to level up as his enemies do the same.