Valley Center tournament: Harding scores 31 as Southeast wins title game

Maybe Southeast didn’t intentionally save something for Topeka Seaman in Saturday’s championship game of the Valley Center tournament.

But the Buffaloes certainly weren’t interested in replicating the previous two tournament games, which required third-quarter jump starts to take control.

“We preached that before this game,” Southeast senior Jerrick Harding said after scoring 31 points in his team’s 81-45 victory over Seaman. “We came out slow in the beginning of both of the other games, and we knew we had to pick up the intensity from the get-go.”

Harding, who was chosen as the tournament’s most valuable player, helped Southeast (10-2) race to a 24-point halftime lead and halt Seaman’s five-game winning streak. Sophomore Israel Barnes added 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Harding averaged 29.7 points in the tournament, affording Southeast coach Melvin Herring another opportunity to provide accolades.

“I’m a big fan,” Herring said. “I love to watch him play. Not just as his coach, but to be able to witness what he does night in and night out.”

Harding supplied his fair share of relentless pressure that left Seaman (9-3) reeling offensively. The Vikings, who scored 77 and 71 points to reach the final, committed 14 turnovers and shot 34 percent from the field (15 of 44).

“They totally disrupted our offense and just got us out of rhythm,” Seaman coach Craig Cox said. “We didn’t attack enough, and when we did, they usually were affecting our shots or blocking them.”

A prime example came late in the first half, when Seaman’s Jackson Cobb appeared to be open under the basket. He caught a crisp pass, but as he went up to shoot, a Southeast defender disrupted his effort, forcing Cobb to land on the court with the ball still in his hands.

Southeast scored the majority of its first-half points inside, relentlessly attacking on the baseline. In the second half, the Buffaloes used their penetration to set up outside shots.

Southeast finished with eight three-pointers.

The Buffaloes’ defense was the constant. They limited Seaman senior Ryan Zeferjahn to six points on 1-of-6 shooting. Zeferjahn combined for 40 points in Seaman’s two tournament victories.

“They get a lot of credit because they were energized defensively,” Cox said. They’ve got some good athletes that are quick and they got out an really got after us.”

Harding, who made 12 of 19 shots, said it’s Southeast intention every game.

“It works against a lot of teams,” Harding said. “We just try to get them sped up.”

Maize South 56, Olathe Northwest 44 – Maize South closed the game on an 11-2 run and got 20 points from guard Payten Ricks in the third-place game.

The Mavericks, who also got 10 points from Bryce Wiedemann, led most of the way. But it took a pair of second-half runs to put away Olathe Northwest.

Matt Vanderslice, a 6-foot-7 junior, led Olathe Northwest with 20 points.

Valley Center 50, KC Turner 47 – Sophomore Tyler Brown scored 30 points – giving him 77 for the tournament – and grabbed 11 rebounds as Valley Center held off Turner for fifth place.

Ryan Garcia added 10 points for the Hornets, who dodged Turner’s comeback bid when Geron Thomas’ three-point attempt caromed out of bounds with two seconds remaining and Valley Center leading 49-47.

This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 9:50 PM with the headline "Valley Center tournament: Harding scores 31 as Southeast wins title game."