TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It’s been a forgettable week for No. 6 Alabama basketball. At times Saturday night, it appeared as though it was going to get much worse.
Struggling to find its rhythm early, the Crimson Tide slumped to a slow start in what was supposed to be a rebound game against Jacksonville State. Fortunately for Alabama, Keon Ellis was able to keep it afloat early while Jahvon Quinerly and Darius Miles capped off a late surge to help the Tide pull out a 65-59 victory inside Coleman Coliseum.
Ellis recorded the second double-double of his career, scoring 20 points to go with 10 rebounds. Quinerly chipped in 15 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Miles had 10 points and seven rebounds. Together, the trio combined to shoot 15 of 31 (48.3%) from the floor and 8 of 19 (42.1%) from deep. The rest of Alabama’s roster combined to shoot 8 of 25 (32%), including a dismal 0-for-11 from beyond the arc.
"Keon, Darius and Quinerly were really good for us," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "A lot of guys struggled offensively. Charles [Bediako] was good on defense. We need everybody to start playing better for that Tuesday game against Davidson, that's for sure."
Saturday marked Ellis’ second straight standout performance after he recorded 19 points and six rebounds against Memphis during Tuesday night’s 92-78 loss to the Tigers. Following that game, Alabama head coach Nate Oats called challenged his players to respond moving forward.
Early on, Ellis seemed to be the only one who got the message.
The senior scored 14 of Alabama’s 29 points, as the Tide took a one-point lead into the break thanks to a buzzer-beating 3 from Quinerly. Alabama’s 29 first-half points were its lowest at the break all season.
Alabama eventually pulled away for its expected win midway through the second half as it used an 18-2 run to build an insurmountable 57-43 lead with 5:16 to play. The Tide hit eight of its 10 shots from the floor during that run, Jacksonville State was in the midst of a 1 of 8 spell. Quinerly and Miles led the second-half resurgence, combining for 21 points after the break.
Jaden Shackelford, who came into the night averaging an SEC best 18.2 points per game, was held scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting, including 0 of 5 from beyond the arc. The junior had posted double-digit points in each of his 10 previous games this season.
"I would doubt Shack has a zero the rest of the year," Oats said. "I mean, that's not like him. He had six pretty good looks too, I thought."
Alabama guard JD Davison played a season-low 13 minutes, including just four in the second half. Following the game, Oats said the five-star freshman was nursing a sprained knee and could have played in an emergency situation. Davison recorded 4 points on 1 of 7 shooting on the night.
Alabama (9-2) didn’t have to pay for its cold shooting as Jacksonville State (5-6) didn’t fare much better on the night. The Gamecocks shot 36% percent from the floor, including 24% (6 of 25) from beyond the arc. Alabama freshman forward Charles Bediako contributed to Jacksonville State's offensive woes, recording a game-high five blocks and two steals to go with seven points and seven rebounds.
"I today's game, our biggest emphasis was defense, especially rebounding, because obviously, last game against Memphis was really tough on us," Bediako said. "Defense was pretty much our biggest emphasis the past two days in practice. We had two great practices. I think that definitely helped me get prepared for today."
Playing a scrappy brand of basketball, Jacksonville State was able to capitalize on 11 Alabama turnovers, turning them into 15 points on the other end.
Alabama was without assistant coach Antoine Pettway, who Oats said missed the game due to a medical issue. Oats said he expects Pettway to rejoin the team next week when it faces Davidson in the C.M. Newton Classic on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT inside Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala. The Tide was originally scheduled to No. 23 Colorado State but had to change opponents after the game got canceled due to COVID-19 complications in the Rams program.
Struggling to find its rhythm early, the Crimson Tide slumped to a slow start in what was supposed to be a rebound game against Jacksonville State. Fortunately for Alabama, Keon Ellis was able to keep it afloat early while Jahvon Quinerly and Darius Miles capped off a late surge to help the Tide pull out a 65-59 victory inside Coleman Coliseum.
Ellis recorded the second double-double of his career, scoring 20 points to go with 10 rebounds. Quinerly chipped in 15 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Miles had 10 points and seven rebounds. Together, the trio combined to shoot 15 of 31 (48.3%) from the floor and 8 of 19 (42.1%) from deep. The rest of Alabama’s roster combined to shoot 8 of 25 (32%), including a dismal 0-for-11 from beyond the arc.
"Keon, Darius and Quinerly were really good for us," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "A lot of guys struggled offensively. Charles [Bediako] was good on defense. We need everybody to start playing better for that Tuesday game against Davidson, that's for sure."
Saturday marked Ellis’ second straight standout performance after he recorded 19 points and six rebounds against Memphis during Tuesday night’s 92-78 loss to the Tigers. Following that game, Alabama head coach Nate Oats called challenged his players to respond moving forward.
Early on, Ellis seemed to be the only one who got the message.
The senior scored 14 of Alabama’s 29 points, as the Tide took a one-point lead into the break thanks to a buzzer-beating 3 from Quinerly. Alabama’s 29 first-half points were its lowest at the break all season.
Alabama eventually pulled away for its expected win midway through the second half as it used an 18-2 run to build an insurmountable 57-43 lead with 5:16 to play. The Tide hit eight of its 10 shots from the floor during that run, Jacksonville State was in the midst of a 1 of 8 spell. Quinerly and Miles led the second-half resurgence, combining for 21 points after the break.
Jaden Shackelford, who came into the night averaging an SEC best 18.2 points per game, was held scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting, including 0 of 5 from beyond the arc. The junior had posted double-digit points in each of his 10 previous games this season.
"I would doubt Shack has a zero the rest of the year," Oats said. "I mean, that's not like him. He had six pretty good looks too, I thought."
Alabama guard JD Davison played a season-low 13 minutes, including just four in the second half. Following the game, Oats said the five-star freshman was nursing a sprained knee and could have played in an emergency situation. Davison recorded 4 points on 1 of 7 shooting on the night.
Alabama (9-2) didn’t have to pay for its cold shooting as Jacksonville State (5-6) didn’t fare much better on the night. The Gamecocks shot 36% percent from the floor, including 24% (6 of 25) from beyond the arc. Alabama freshman forward Charles Bediako contributed to Jacksonville State's offensive woes, recording a game-high five blocks and two steals to go with seven points and seven rebounds.
"I today's game, our biggest emphasis was defense, especially rebounding, because obviously, last game against Memphis was really tough on us," Bediako said. "Defense was pretty much our biggest emphasis the past two days in practice. We had two great practices. I think that definitely helped me get prepared for today."
Playing a scrappy brand of basketball, Jacksonville State was able to capitalize on 11 Alabama turnovers, turning them into 15 points on the other end.
Alabama was without assistant coach Antoine Pettway, who Oats said missed the game due to a medical issue. Oats said he expects Pettway to rejoin the team next week when it faces Davidson in the C.M. Newton Classic on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT inside Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala. The Tide was originally scheduled to No. 23 Colorado State but had to change opponents after the game got canceled due to COVID-19 complications in the Rams program.
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