Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/969330
the Buckeyes – this one a 79-56 thrashing at the Bryce Jordan Center in which Gar- ner again sunk four triples. Then, a crucial injury struck the team. Watkins went down for the season with a knee injury against Michigan, and the Nittany Lions lost their final three games heading into the Big Ten tourna- ment. To outsiders, the season appeared over. To Garner, it was just another bump in the road during a career full of them. "We took it personal when they were saying Mike went down and we lost our swagger. We saw all that stuff," Garner said. "That was the one time where they put [a headline] up in the locker room. We put it up in the locker room and said, 'We lost our swagger. This is what they're say- ing about us.' And we took that into the Big Ten tournament and we played with a chip on our shoulder." In the eight postseason games that ensued, Garner shot over 50 percent from beyond the arc and averaged more than 15 points per game, including a 33-point out- burst against Purdue in the Big Ten semi- finals. The postseason run helped him set Penn State's career record for most 3- pointers with 336. It was the first extended stretch in Gar- ner's nearly four years at Penn State in which his sharpshooting skill set aligned directly with the Nittany Lions' needs as a team, and he was rewarded with the biggest outbursts of his career. And a banner. "We're second all-time in wins. That's his, that's this team's, and nobody can take that away from him," Chambers said, referring to the Nittany Lions' 26 victo- ries, which trail only the 2008-09 team's 27. "There's going to be a banner up in the BJC. There's going to be a year up on the other banner. You can't take that away from these guys. It's a special group, and Shep is the leader of that group." Garner's path to Madison Square Gar- den, to Penn State's third postseason tournament title of any kind, required healthy doses of patience and persist- ence. But as he collected his prizes – an NIT trophy and a piece of twine from the world's most famous arena and a healthy portion of pride – the struggle was all worth it. "This is our goal," he said. "This is what we wanted to be. This is the way I wanted to go out." ■ CAREER LEADER Garner became Penn State's all- time leader in 3- pointers with his performance vs. Mississippi State in the NIT semifinals. Photo by Maddy Pryor