On January 30th, Germantown Academy went on the road to face Malvern Prep in an intense Inter-Ac matchup. At the time, Nick was Malvern’s leading scorer and needed just six points to achieve the coveted 1000-point benchmark. 

“Going into the game, it was in the back of my mind, but obviously it’s a team game, and we were more focused on winning,” Harken said when asked if anything felt different prior to the game.

The stands were packed with Nick’s Malvern brothers waiting to watch him cement himself into Malvern Prep history. The pace was quick, and all eyes were on Harken as Malvern jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter. Harken had  4 points: 2 with remaining. The student section was chanting for Nick, making his face light up. He was just one shot away. About halfway through the second quarter, Nick received a pass from his captain and mentor, Bryce Perkins, in the low post. 

“Kinda felt as if time stopped, back to the basket I did one pound dribble, turned and laid it up with my right,” Harken said.

The ball fell through the basket, giving Nick his 1000th varsity point, a feat achieved in just over two years from when he scored his first point. 

“Yeah, immediately, my first thought or reaction was I felt relieved. You know the game was going well. Being able to get that, my sixth point, I just felt successful and very joyful being able to celebrate that moment with my teammates and family. All the work that I put into it, finally paying off, accomplishing a milestone like this. And in that moment, just a sense of gratitude, I was thankful,” Harken said.

His Head Coach, Paul Romanczuk, elaborated on this when asked how it felt seeing his player reach such a big milestone in his career.

“I’m very proud of Nick.  He has a great work ethic and is never satisfied – he is always looking for ways to improve and take his talents to the next level.  It’s very rewarding as a coach to see players reach milestones like this.  I enjoy being around a coachable young man like Nick, who enjoys the work you need to put in to be successful at a high level,” Romanczuk said.

At the next stoppage, the game was paused to honor Harken, a common practice for high school basketball. His parents came down from the stands with a banner saying “congratulations, Nick Harken on 1000 points.” The crowd got on their feet and got loud to show their appreciation for Nick. A picture was taken, then the game continued on.

Harken not only got to his 1000 point milestone this game, but also finished the game with 27 en route to a big league win, separating Malvern from their opponents. He and his teammates were all smiles after the game.

Bryce Perkins, one of the captains and the lucky teammate who assisted Harken’s 1000th point, spoke out.

“It feels really fulfilling knowing that I was the one who assisted on his thousandth point. When you think about all the time we’ve put together going to the gym during the summer, putting up extra workouts at the park, and even the day he shadowed me during my freshman year. I never would have expected it to happen that way, but I’m glad it did. Everything about it was truly well deserved,” Perkins said.

Now, Nicholas Harken will be forever written under the 1000 point banner hanging in the O’Neill gym where Malvern Prep honors its most outstanding players. In the years to come, everyone who enters that gym will remember the player he was and the lasting impact he left.