Jerrick Harding’s big night lifts Southeast boys past East (+video)

If you see Southeast guard Jerrick Harding tomorrow, or a year from now, or, heck, even 20 years from now, make sure to ask him what it was like out there.

Ask him what it was like, that one time, against East, in one of the last gasps for his school’s 59-year old gym when he lit the place up for 38 points.

Ask him what it was like as every shot seemed like it would fall, as every basket raised the crowd’s decibel level to ear-splitting levels. And ask him what it was like to finally get that long-awaited win over East, taking down the defending Class 6A state champion 81-68 on Tuesday night.

Ask him, because after the best game of his career, he didn’t want to talk. Which is fine. Teammate Israel Barnes was happy to do it for him.

“We knew he’d come out and erupt, so just get the ball to him and move out of the way,” said Barnes, who scored 25 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. “He just wanted this game so bad, for all the fans and for himself to get a win over East his senior year. He wanted that.”

Harding, who is trying to join North’s Conner Frankamp as the only three-time City League scoring leaders, was laser-sharp from the start.

After Barnes hit three three-pointers and a long jumper to give Southeast a 17-9 lead, Harding scored 10 straight points over the final 2:37 of the first quarter to put Southeast (12-2, 8-2 City League) up 27-15. Harding continued the onslaught in the second quarter, even hitting a three after he almost slipped and fell down, scoring 23 first-half points on the way to a 41-25 Southeast lead at halftime.

“In big games like this, you want the ball in his hands,” Southeast coach Melvin Herring said. “That’s what that experience and that leadership does. That’s what you saw tonight.”

With Southeast up 59-45 and just less than one minute left in the third quarter, Harding picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench. East (8-5, 6-3) rallied and cut Southeast’s lead to 65-56 lead on a pair of free throws from Elijah Kelly with 4:34 left in the fourth quarter.

East senior forward Xavier Kelly led his team with 25 points and nine rebounds. Michael McKinney added 16 points for the Aces.

“It felt like we had a hand in the face a lot of times tonight, but they were unbelievable, especially in the first half,” East coach Joe Jackson said. “Everybody knows we run things through Xavier, and they did a great job doubling down on him, so we were moving him around a lot tonight. Our shots weren’t falling from the perimeter, so we have to step up and make plays in other ways.”

Herring put Harding back in after Kelly’s free throws, and the 6-foot senior scored eight more points. He finished 11 of 17 from the field and 11 of 12 from the free-throw line.

“I’ve got so much trust in our team, that with Jerrick out those four minutes I knew the kids would sustain and hold onto that lead,” Herring siad. “One thing we do as a team, we trust each other. In the end, that’s what you want out of your team and they stepped up tonight.”

Harding declined comment after the game, with Herring saying his star player’s “head wasn’t right” several times. But Barnes gave some insight into what it was like before his teammate’s virtuoso performance, in the Southeast locker room pre-tipoff.

“He was calm, cool and collected,” Barnes said, smiling. “Just like he always is.”

This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 11:13 PM with the headline "Jerrick Harding’s big night lifts Southeast boys past East (+video)."