BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — This is the Darren Harris Indiana recruited, a guard who can score all over the court, a veteran who can stretch defenses to the breaking point.
On Thursday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bellarmine broke. Harris scored a career-high 23 points, seven more than he’d ever scored in two seasons at Duke, as the Hoosiers (2-0) rolled to a 92-69 victory.
Harris finished 6-for-11 from the field, including 5-for-10 on 3-pointers.
It was a strong follow up to his 1-for-7 shooting three nights earlier against Eastern Illinois.
“It starts with my teammates setting me up,” Harris said, “and keeping confidence in me. I didn’t shoot it well the last couple of games, so I looked at film, knowing my shot better than anyone. See what’s natural. Making little tweaks, make my follow through a little stronger, holding it a little better and it worked.”
At Duke, Harris was a reserve. Now, he’s a starter with the resulting burden.
“This is a brand-new situation,” he said. “It’s a new team, new coach, new city, new school, a new role. It’s just getting comfortable and getting used to playing heavy minutes again.”
Coach Darrian DeVries is well aware of what a comfortable Harris can do.
“He hasn’t had a couple of good shooting games in a row,” DeVries said, “but just having the confidence to shoot through that, especially when a guy is coming to a new team, a new arena, a new situation.
“We’ve seen it in the summer and the fall, and in his high school days. It was just a matter of time. He’s a kid who tries every day to give us what he can. He wants to do well so bad, so it was nice to see him have a great night.”
A much more aggressive Harris made an early scoring impact against a methodical Bellarmine team determined to dictate a slower pace. His 15 first-half points, combined with fellow guard Bryce Lindsay’s 13, fueled IU’s 50-26 halftime lead.
Lindsay finished with 15 points and four assists.
Guard Markus Burton, so good in his Hoosier debut against Eastern Illinois (19 points, 7-for-8 shooting), struggled with 0-for-7 shooting before fouling out. He did have four assists and two rebounds.
Fellow starting guard Jaeden Mustaf added five points, four rebounds, and two assists.
Imagine how good the Hoosiers will be when all four guards are clicking at the same time. Harris can.
“It’s going to make us really hard to beat,” he said. “We have so many weapons, so many ways we can beat you. We can beat you inside, outside, in transition. We can have a really good defensive team. When we get to the level we can get at, it’s scary.”
Freshman forward Trevor Manhertz followed his 11-point college debut against Eastern Illinois with nine points and five rebounds. He again made two 3-pointers.
Forward Sam Alexis came on strong for 12 points and six rebounds. Forward Aiden Sherrell also had 12 points and six rebounds.
Even a couple of banked-in 3-pointers couldn’t keep Bellarmine (0-2) competitive, although it did win the second half, 43-42, as the Hoosiers went heavy to the bench in the final minutes.
Now that DeVries has had two games to evaluate his team, what are his thoughts?
“The first-half teams have been really good,” he said with a smile. “The second-half teams, our communication has dropped defensively.
“For us, it’s maintaining that focus when you have a lead. You know the quality you have to have. I don’t think our defensive intensity in both of the second halves was up to our standard. So great first halves, in stretches offensively and defensively, but we have to make sure we can maintain that for a full 40 minutes.”
IU’s 1967 Big Ten title team was honored during the game.
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Harris opened the game with a 3-pointer, and then two free throws. Center Samet Yigitoglu dunked. A Lindsay 3-pointer pushed IU ahead 13-5 after seven minutes. A second Lindsay 3-pointer made it 18-7. The Hoosiers limited Bellarmine to just eight shots with six turnovers in 10 minutes.
Harris’s second 3-pointer and a Yigitoglu layup boosted IU to a 24-9 lead with eight minutes remaining. A Manhertz 3-pointer off a Sherrell assist made it 30-15. Another Harris 3-pointer gave IU a 38-20 lead with four minutes left in the half.
Lindsay’s three-point play off a fastbreak, and then a 3-pointer off a Burton assist helped the Hoosiers take a 50-26 halftime lead. Harris led with 15 points. Lindsay had 13. IU had 11 assists against three turnovers while shooting 57 percent from the field.
Harris opened the second half with his fourth 3-pointer. A few minutes later, he added a fifth as IU surged to a 57-36 lead and beyond.
Next up — the Hoosiers play Syracuse (2-0) on Monday at Indianapolis’s Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
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