LAS VEGAS — In a hard-nosed matchup that was expected to see loads of veteran production from San Diego State men’s basketball, the narrative shifted quickly as the first half came to a close against No. 7 Michigan in its opening round of the 2025 Players Era Festival.
With experienced guards in both Miles Byrd and Reese Dixon-Waters shooting a combined 20% from the field, it was clear someone else had to step up. Despite facing a significant 94-54 defeat to the Wolverines on Monday night, freshman guard Elzie Harrington proved that he belongs on this roster.
“Obviously, he’s proven he’s deserving more minutes, which I’ve known from the start,” head coach Brian Dutcher said postgame. “I feel Elzie is an incredibly talented player. He’s only in his fourth game of college basketball.”
Harrington checked in for his first possession of the game with 14:22 left in the first half. Although he missed his first two jumpers, it was evident that he was looking for his shot early on.
The aggressive mentality began to fall into the freshman’s favor, as he got his first bucket to fall with about five minutes before halftime. Harrington came down on the next possession, finding himself wide open on the right wing for a triple in transition.
“On offense, we practiced all week, we knew the big was going to be in drop … so when we got out there, we were finally able to execute and I got the shots I wanted,” Harrington said.
Despite the efforts from Harrington on the Aztecs’ side of the court, Michigan continued to score on its own possessions and kept SDSU out of striking distance. But the back-and-forth scoring allowed Harrington to stay in a rhythm, as he closed the first half scoring on consecutive possessions with a mid-range jumper around the left elbow and a floater just inside the free-throw line.
The consistency from the star guard brought the Aztecs within nine points, as the Wolverines led 42-33, before ending the half with a Michigan three-pointer to put momentum back in their corner. After missing a couple of baskets to start the game, Harrington went on to make four consecutive shots in the remaining five minutes of the first, while contributing nine of the Aztecs’ last 12 points heading into the half.
“Elzie got in there and shot over him,” Dutcher said. “We knew that’s what they’d be in, drop coverage. That’s what they do against everybody. So we had to get in there and make some plays.”
Coming into the second half, Harrington made his first appearance count, immediately knocking down a tough turnaround fadeaway in the paint over a Michigan defender.
With a little over four minutes left in the game, Harrington knocked down a couple of free throws after a flagrant foul was called on his way to an easy fastbreak dunk. Those two makes from the charity stripe tied his previous career high at 13 points.
With the Wolverines leading by 32 points, victory was far out of reach at this point. But with 39 seconds left to go, Harrington converted on a mid-range jumper just inside the left wing to set a new career high.
“As crazy as it sounds, I was just focused on trying to win tonight,” Harrington said. “I wasn’t necessarily super happy with how I played the first two games … I was just trying to win.”
His 15 points came from a consistent 6-for-9 shooting performance from the field and 1-for-1 from beyond the arc. Although the scoring ability appears to stand out most, it’s worth noting that only one turnover from the freshman showed his care for the ball and overall poise against one of the best units in the country.
Playing 22 minutes for the Scarlet and Black tonight, expect Harrington to be on the court when it counts in their next matchup against Oregon tonight at 8 p.m. in Las Vegas.
“We can’t think about Michigan leaving the building,” Harrington said. “We gotta think about Oregon, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
