Tag: John Harrar

Micah Shrewsberry on loss to Nebraska: We got our butts kicked because of me

Micah Shrewsberry on Penn State’s embarrassing blowout loss to Nebraska: We got our butts kicked because of me.

Penn State men’s basketball head coach Micah Shrewsberry wasn’t in the mood to talk too much after watching his team get run off its own court by a Nebraska team that had just one win in Big Ten play coming into Sunday night. Penn State dropped its regular-season home finale by a lopsided 93-70 final score despite being a 10.5-point favorite in the game. Penn State had played well at home all season long, which made the loss to Nebraska, locked in as the last-place team in the Big Ten, even more befuddling.

After the game, Shrewsberry said he didn’t have too much to say about the result other than he let his team down and had to give credit to Nebraska for not backing down in the final stretch of what has been a brutal season in Lincoln.

“I don’t really have much of an opening statement, besides the fact that I didn’t do a good job of getting our team ready to play tonight,” Shrewsberry said in his opening remarks after Sunday night’s loss to the Huskers. “It was a high factor. You prepare for what someone is capable of doing and if you’re not ready to go, this is what they’re capable of doing. Anyone that looks at Nebraska, they haven’t laid down, died, or quit at any point in time, they play really hard. We didn’t have it tonight and that’s on me, I did a terrible job of getting these guys prepared tonight.”

AlthoughPenn State is two games under .500, there have really only been a small handful of games where Penn State was completely overwhelmed by their opponent this season. Back-to-back games against Iowa and Indiana led to Shrewsberry shouldering much of the blame for not having his team properly prepared, but games at home have been much more of a positive storyline. But when something’s not clicking for you and the other team has a way to capitalize on it, what happened Sunday night can easily unfold fairly quickly.

Nebraska opened the game by scoring on 12 of their first 19 possessions and controlling the offensive rebounds, which Shrewsberry was asked about.

We hung our hat on that the entire season and we were just a step behind the entire time. They were playing a faster pace than we were defensively and when you start a possession like that, you get behind and then anything could happen, and it snowballs.

Shrewsberry was asked about his own demeanor during the game as he got noticeably more quiet as the game went along and the fate of the evening appeared to be more and more certain. Shrewsberry simply said at some point, you run out of things to say in the situation.

At some point in time, what is there to say? I mean, we’re getting our butts kicked if I was yelling or if I was quiet. We also have leaders on the team that sometimes they have to say something for you. I did a poor job tonight. We got our butts kicked because of me.

Shrewsberry put the blame for the game on his shoulders and said he felt bad for his players afterward. Asked specifically about senior John Harrar, whom Shrewsberry has complimented on many occasions throughout the season, Shrewsberry said he was disappointed his team didn’t play the right way for him.

I’m just disappointed that we didn’t play the right way for him. It’s his last opportunity to play here and that hurts worse than the loss and the way that we lost. For a guy that puts everything he has into it and cares so much and for this to be his last game here, that’s why I’m hurting. That’s what sad, he’s given his all for five years and this is how he got rewarded.

Shrewsberry’s postgame press conference ended after just three questions following the opening remarks. As Shrewsberry said, at some point you just run out of things to say about a loss like this.

Penn State will play its final two games of the regular season on the road, beginning with a road game at Illinois on Thursday, March 3. The Nittany Lions are likely locked into a double-digit seed for the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament that gets underway next week.

Shrewsberry’s postgame quotes are courtesy of Penn State athletics.

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Penn State uses second-half push to rally past Northwestern

John Harrar’s 20 rebounds helped lead Penn State to a senior night victory over Northwestern.

Penn State’s men’s basketball program honored its seniors prior to a Friday night game against Northwestern in the Bryce Jordan Center. It was only fitting that the seniors for the program in transition helped secure a victory with a strong second-half push against the Wildcats for a 67-60 victory.

Penn State struggled in the first half and went to the locker room trailing Northwestern 28-22. But they found a way to regroup and respond to the adversity on their home court by connecting on more shots and looking more in rhythm in the second half. John Harrar’s 20 rebounds and 11 points for a double-double helped change the outcome of the game in Penn State’s favor, and other seniors played a key role as well.

Myles Dread hit a pair of three-pointers in the game and Sam Sessoms added 12 points to help out in the second half. But it was sophomore guard Daillion Johnson who led the scoring for the Penn State offense with a game-high 15 points.

Penn State swept the regular-season series with the Wildcats, marking the first regular-season sweep of Northwestern since 2011.

The Nittany Lions look to close out the home schedule with one more win when they host Nebraska on Sunday evening. Penn State is now 10-4 at home in the Bryce Jordan Center. This is the only regular-season meeting between Penn State and Nebraska.

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Penn State rallies to upset Michigan State in much-needed win

Penn State was in need of a big win. They got it on Tuesday night against Michigan State.

Penn State was in need of a big win heading into the final stretch of the regular season, and on Tuesday night they certainly got it. Penn State went on a major run in the second half to come from behind for an exhilarating 62-58 victory over No. 19 Michigan State in the Bryce Jordan Center.

After playing Michigan State to a tie at halftime, the Nittany Lions fell behind by as many as 14 points in the second half. But Penn State went on a 33-15 run to close out the game, led by Seth Lundy and John Harrar, and give head coach Micah Shrewsberry his first career coaching victory against a ranked opponent.

Lundy led all players with a 17-point effort that was boosted by five three-point shots in the win. Harrar, who was complemented by Shrewsberry for always being a hard worker, recorded his seventh double-double of the season with a dominant night on the boards against a tough team to thrive against.

It had been over a year since Penn State’s last win at home against a ranked opponent. Prior to Tuesday night, Penn State’s last win at home against a ranked opponent was on Jan. 30, 2021 against Wisconsin. This win against the Spartans gives Penn State at least one home win against a ranked opponent for a seventh consecutive season in the Bryce Jordan Center.

The win against Michigan State is a big one for the Nittany Lions, who are fighting to end the regular season above .500. The win brought Penn State to 10-12 on the season with a somewhat favorable schedule remaining outside of a road trip to Illinois at the beginning of March.

Next up for Penn State is a rescheduled home game against Minnesota. Penn State just came up short on the road against the struggling Gophers over the weekend and is looking for their first back-to-back wins since the beginning of January.

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Penn State wins double OT thriller in revenge game vs. Iowa

Penn State’s first home game in three weeks packed plenty of excitement in a double OT thriller with Iowa

Revenge is a dish best served cold, so the saying goes. While it was certainly cold outside the Bryce Jordan Center on Monday evening, the action certainly was not inside as Penn State men’s basketball started the week with a thriller. A little more than a week after getting embarrassed on the road against Iowa, Penn State won a double-overtime classic, 90-86, that should give head coach Micah Shrewsberry confidence in knowing there is still plenty of fight in his team.

Playing their first home game in nearly three weeks (a game against Minnesota was postponed), five Nittany Lions scored in double figures in the winning effort. But before the game could get to a second overtime, it needed to first get to a first overtime. Iowa’s Keegan Murray did just that with a tip-in at the buzzer on what could have been a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer for the Hawkeyes.

No doubt about it, that was a big-time play by Iowa’s star player underneath the basket. Murray led Iowa with 21 points scored and he added six rebounds to his stats sheet as well. But Penn State got the kind of balance Shrewsberry has been hoping to see from his team in a full-team effort. Five different players scored in double figures with John Harrar having a career-high 19 points to lead the team. Myles Dread was among the double-digit scorers, and his clutch three-point shot with nine seconds to go in the first overtime helped set the stage for the second overtime.

After a frustrating week on the road with blowout losses to Iowa and Indiana, Shrewsberry was left with some serious questions about his team’s resolve. Well, for one night, those questions were answered for the head coach with authority.

“The way we started the game, things didn’t always go well for us. But we kept fighting back, we kept fighting back, we kept fighting back,” Shrewsberry said in his opening remarks in his postgame press conference after the win. “You get a lead and they send overtime and you have to fight back, you have to bounce back. It goes to double overtime, you got to bounce back, you got to fight back. And these guys did it all night long. I’m proud of these guys, and how we responded.”

Maybe this will be the spark Shrewsberry needed to get things back on track for his program this season. As Shrewsberry mentioned in his postgame press conference, the Big Ten doesn’t throw you any softballs the rest of the way, but having a win like this to restore some confidence is certainly a plus.

Now it’s time once again to hit the road for Penn State’s next game, and it will be a big challenge. Penn State travels to Madison, Wisconsin to take on the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday evening.

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Penn State comes up short against Miami in first home loss

Penn State took its first home loss this basketball season in a defensive battle against Miami in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

For the first time this season, Penn State lost a men’s basketball game at home in the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State lost to Miami on Wednesday night in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, snapping a three-game winning streak in the conference crossover event. Penn State lost to the Hurricanes, 63-58.

Miami started the night on a hot note from three-point range with all four of their first shots made of the game coming from beyond the three-point line for a lead at the first media timeout. Penn State battled some turnover issues in the first half of a defensive game as well, so it was imperative for the Nittany Lions to continue playing solid defense to keep the game from getting too out of hand on their home court.

Penn State took a lead in the second half during a 15-2 run fueled by John Harrar, who had his third double-double this season, having an impact, but Miami responded and regained momentum to take a 51-48 lead with under eight minutes to play. Penn State was unable to climb out of the hole the rest of the night.

Harrar was a clean 6-for-6 shooting the basketball to tie a season-high 16 points. Seth Lundy added 14 points.

Sam Sessoms had a tough night shooting just 4-of-12, including an 0-for-2 from three-point range. Sessoms finished with eight points. Myles Dread shot 3-for-9, with all three shots being three-pointers for all nine of his points on the night.

Penn State is now 4-3 overall at the start of December, including its 3-1 mark at home. The Nittany Lions are 1-2 against power-conference opponents with losses to LSU and Miami and a victory over Oregon State.

Next up for Penn State is a jump into Big Ten play with a home game against Ohio State. The Nittany Lions host the Buckeyes on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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Penn State basketball ties program record for threes in win over Cornell

Sam Sessoms and Seth Lundy were on fire from three-point range in a Penn State win over Cornell

Monday night was anything but easy for the Penn State men’s basketball team but a big night beyond the three-point line helped lead Penn State to a victory over previously undefeated Cornell. Penn State had a tough battle with the Big red all night long but the Nittany Lions improved to 3-1 on the season with an 85-74 victory over Cornell on Monday evening in the Bryce Jordan Center.

Penn State tied a program record for the most three-point shots in a single game, 15, with Sam Sessoms and Seth Lundy combining forces to drain 11 of those shots beyond the arc. Sessoms was 6-of-7 from three-point range and Lundy was 5-of-8.

Lundy led the Nittany Lions with a 23-point effort and John Harrar had a game-high 12 rebounds as he continues to pull down boards for the Nittany Lions.

“I told our guys as we were getting ready for this game that this was going to be a challenge, watching these guys on film and watching how they played,” Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry said in his postgame media session. “Cornell played at the highest pace in the country going into this game and they got eight transition points and that’s kudos to our effort. Our guys focused in terms of how they were going to guard them and I proud of our effort tonight.”

Cornell jumped on Penn State early and proved to be a real threat to a Penn State team still working to form a true identity. Cornell moved the ball well and took advantage of a slow start by the Nittany Lions at home, but Penn State hung tough and eventually found the shots that worked for them. Penn State’s defense came up in big spots too, especially in the second half as Penn State was working to put the game away.

Penn State now heads south to continue to play in the Emerald Coast Classic. Next up for the Nittany Lions is a matchup with the LSU Tigers in Niceville, Florida on Friday. LSU is off to a 5-0 start this season following its latest victory over Belmont on Monday night. LSU has yet to give up 60 points in a game this season, so Penn State will have to find a way to get some offense against the Tigers.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 26. The game can be seen on CBS Sports Network.

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Big first half powers Penn State past St. Francis Brooklyn in Emerald Coast Classic

Sam Sessoms and John Harrar had a big night as Penn State rebounded against St. Francis Brooklyn in the Emerald Coast Classic

Penn State men’s basketball returned to the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday night, and it resulted in a rebound win for the Nittany Lions. Penn State got off to a good start against visiting St. Francis Brooklyn and used that effort to improve to 2-1 with a 74-59 victory over the Terriers in the first game of the Emerald Coast Classic.

Sam Sessoms scored a game-high 26 points and big man John Harrar recorded a double-double, his second of the season. Penn State trailed 6-2 early on in the game, but then they went on a run to take a 14-11 lead at the under-12 media timeout. Penn State never trailed for the rest of the game. Sessoms closed out the first half scoring the final six points of the half to boost Penn state’s halftime lead to 40-27, giving Penn state momentum entering halftime.

Sessoms and Harrar also connected on one of the plays of the game, an alley-oop to a wide-open Harrar for the slam.

Head coach Micah Shrewsberry threw out a slightly new look to the starting lineup on Thursday night. Senior Jalanni White made his way into the starting lineup for his first career start. White added eight points and seven rebounds. That included this sequence that showed the determination of White to finish the play.

Penn State is now 2-0 at home early on in the season, and it was good to see the program bounce back after a rough outing earlier in the week at UMass. Shrewsberry said the blowout loss to the Minutemen was a good learning experience for a roster that is blending a handful of returning vets with transfers in Shrewsberry’s first season as a head coach. It’s still very early in the season and it may be too much to ask to draw any real conclusions following a home win against a team that has yet to win a game, but it’s OK to take any grain of optimism whenever possible

The Nittany Lions have some good tests upcoming in the coming weeks that should tell more about where this team is early in the Shrewsberry era.

Penn State will host one more game in the Emerald Coast Classic when they host Cornell on Monday evening. Penn State and Cornell are scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. ET tip in the Bryce Jordan Center. Then, on Black Friday (Nov. 26), the Nittany Lions will be in Florida to take on the LSU Tigers in the third game of the Emerald Coast Classic. Penn State will play either Oregon State or Wake Forest the following day as the Emerald Coast Classic comes to a close.

You can view the full Penn State men’s basketball schedule HERE.

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Ex-Penn State player torches Nittany Lions as UMass wins blowout

Penn State basketball burned by former Nittany Lion Trent Buttrick as UMass wins a blowout in Amherst

The second game of the Micah Shrewsberry era at Penn State hit a speedbump in Amherst, Massachusetts on Monday night. Then it got stuck in a pothole that turned into a sinkhole and swallowed the entire program in the process. Penn State was drubbed by UMass on the road on Monday night with the Nittany Lions slumping their way back to State College with an 81-56 loss.

Turnovers and hot shooting by the Minutemen teamed up to spell Penn State’s doom in the second half of the game. After trailing by four at halftime, Penn State just could not keep up the pace against UMass, who got a big night from Trent Buttrick, who transferred to UMass in the offseason from Penn State. Buttrick was the leading scorer for UMass with 19 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Penn State was outscored by UMass in the second half, 44-23, after starting the second half on a 20-4 run.

Penn State was led by Seth Lundy in the scoring department with 14 points. Sam Sessoms had 12 points and John Harrar was Penn State’s rebound leader with a game-high 12 rebounds.

Penn State looks to bounce back into the win column on Thursday night when they return to the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State is scheduled to host St. Francis Brooklyn in the first game of the Emerald Coast Classic.

You can view Penn State’s entire men’s basketball schedule HERE.

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Penn State Nittany Lions 2021-22 Men’s Basketball Roster

Full rundown of the Penn State men’s basketball roster for the 2021-22 season

Penn State’s men’s basketball team offers a blend of veteran Nittany Lions who have gone through three different head coaches in the past two years and a blend of incoming transfer players to help fill the roster after an eventful offseason in Happy Valley. Head coach Micah Shrewsberry wasted little time forming his first coaching staff and roster for his debut season as a head coach, and his Nittany Lions face a challenging big Ten slate and some interesting non-conference matchups.

Below is the full roster and some quick info about each player appearing on it for the Nittany Lions for the 2021-22 season. This roster page will be updated moving forward through the season with links to highlights, features, photo galleries, and more.

For Penn State’s men’s basketball schedule for the 2021-22 season, click HERE.

Can Penn State land a key mid-major transfer against a growing list of interested schools and the NBA draft?

Penn State basketball in deep competition to secure a key mid-major transfer against UNC, Notre Dame, the NBA draft, and more

Penn State men’s basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry has been keeping tabs on the activity in the college basketball transfer portal, and another potential target may have just become available. But to secure the transfer, Shrewsberry may have to win a pretty tight recruiting battle against Texas Tech, a pair of SEC programs, and the NBA draft.

According to Jeff Goodman of Stadium, Kevin Obanor of Oral Roberts is looking to enter the NBA draft. However, as a way to keep all of his options on the table, he has also added his name to the transfer portal database, which is not a bad strategy given the uncertain nature of a two-round NBA draft.

As of now, Obanor reportedly prefers to head to the NBA with the hope of being drafted by an NBA franchise in need of a 6′-8″ forward who helped Oral Roberts advance to the Sweet Sixteen in this past season’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament following upset victories over Ohio State and Florida. He has already worked out for the Golden State Warriors and has workouts scheduled with the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic.

But now that he is in the transfer portal, Obanor is getting calls from interested programs. Among those reaching out, according to Goodman, has been Penn State.

Goodman went on to add some other names to the list of schools reaching out to Obanor. Among them were Notre Dame, North Carolina, and Georgetown. Don’t be surprised if more schools are added to the list.

Penn State could certainly benefit from the addition of one of the nation’s top mid-major forwards if Obanor were to join the program. Seth Lundy has already made the decision to remain with the Nittany Lions after testing the waters of the transfer portal this offseason. John Harrar will also return for another season. Penn State has also added Greg Lee from the transfer portal via Cal State Bakersfield. Penn State isn’t exactly short on forwards, but any time a program can add a good quality player to the roster, it is worth examining.

Shrewsberry’s experience in developing NBA talent could also come into play as an advantage in recruiting Obanor to Happy Valley. But Penn State may be considered a bit of a longshot to land Obanor as he makes his decision on his future.

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