Southeast’s dynamic duo leads way in rout of Maize South

Batman needed Robin. Michael Jordan needed Scottie Pippen.

Laverne needed Shirley.

Turns out, Southeast guard Jerrick Harding needed Israel Barnes in the same way.

“Every team has got to have that, that Batman and Robin,” Southeast coach Melvin Herring said. “Then you might throw Green Lantern in there ... Superman might creep in. Next thing you know, you’ve got The Avengers. It makes for great basketball. It makes it exciting.”

And while Herring may have mixed up his superhero super teams, he’s got his own dynamic duo running right as Harding and Barnes once again led Southeast’s boys to a big win, 70-56 over Maize South on Friday night at Koch Arena in the City League vs. AV-CTL basketball challenge.

Harding and Barnes, a sophomore, combined for 56 points and 20 rebounds against the Mavericks, last season’s Class 5A runner-up. Barnes transferred to Southeast from Sunrise Christian Academy and this is their first season playing together.

“It just makes it a lot easier, it takes a lot of pressure off me,” said Harding, who scored 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds. “I know I can hand it to him and he can get a bucket or create for others.”

In the first half, as Harding lit up the box score with 14 points, it was Barnes who had the signature moment for Southeast (7-2), rising up over Maize South’s Tristen Knoblauch for a one-handed, tomahawk jam.

“I was just trying to get momentum for my team, get my team hyped,” said Barnes, who scored 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. “It feels good to do it at the Shockers’ stadium ... it didn’t really seem like I was as high as I got.”

Southeast cruised into halftime with a 28-15 lead and held Maize South leading scorer Payten Ricks to no field goals and just three points in the first half as he was blanketed by Southeast point guard D’Andre Franklin.

“I’m not sure that there was much more Payten could’ve done,” Maize South coach Kip Schultz said. “(Southeast) just did an exceptional job of keeping a man tight to him and hedging when he tried to come off ball screens.

“More important than that, though, was that they made 17 of 20 shots in the paint ... and we were trying to protect the paint. So we didn’t do a very good job of that. If you give up 60 or 70 points on this level, you’re not going to win very many games.”

Ricks finished with 17 points, with most of them coming after the game was out of reach.

“That’s just great basketball, that’s just defense,” Herring said. “(Franklin) made a sacrifice for the greater good of the team. That’s the principle we always preach. It’s all about team effort.”

Southeast put the game away early in the second half, with Barnes scoring nine points in the third quarter for a 46-32 Southeast lead.

And not to be outdone, Harding had his own highlight-reel moment in the fourth quarter, catching a pass off the bounce from Franklin on a fast break and rising up for a one-handed slam ... followed by an uncharacteristic scream.

“It just came real quick, I jumped and all of a sudden I was at the rim,” Harding said. “Sometimes I can be emotional out there. Most of the time I just try to relax. I was just in the moment.”

This story was originally published January 15, 2016 at 11:35 PM with the headline "Southeast’s dynamic duo leads way in rout of Maize South."