Looking to gain momentum heading into its conference schedule, Alabama basketball netted a much-needed victory as it downed East Tennessee State 85-69 Tuesday night in Coleman Coliseum.
Playing without John Petty Jr. and James Rojas due to an “in-house decision,” Alabama (5-3) got off to another slow start before using a 23-7 second-half run to put away ETSU (4-4).
Alabama head coach Nate Oats didn't go in depth on Petty and Jones' absence, stating that he expects the duo to be back for the Tide's next game. Alabama will open up SEC play next Tuesday (Dec. 29) when it hosts Ole Miss at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
"It was a coach's decision that they wouldn't be in the building tonight. I fully anticipate both of them being back after Christmas for the first conference game. I'm going to leave it at that."
Alabama took advantage of 20 ETSU turnovers, turning them into 20 points. The Tide also flashed its depth, holding a 26-12 advantage in bench scoring.
Here are three observations from Alabama’s win over East Tennessee State.
Shackelford, Quinerly break out of slumps
Alabama guards Jahvon Quinerly and Jaden Shackelford both headed into Tuesday night’s matchup looking to shake off slumps.
Shackelford came into the matchup just 2 of 14 from beyond the arc over his last three games. Meanwhile, Quinerly was relegated to the bench for the Tide’s loss to Western Kentucky over the weekend and came into Tuesday’s game averaging just 6.33 points over his last three outings.
Tuesday, Shackelford led the Tide with 26 points while sinking a career-high 8 3-pointers. The sophomore was 8 of 13 from beyond the arc on the night. Quinerly tallied 14 points and a career-high nine assists. The former McDonalds All-American finished the night 4 of 8 from the floor and had just one turnover over 35 minutes, a stark improvement over his season-high six giveaways over the weekend.
"It feels good," Shackelford said. "We're in the gym all the time, we trust the process. We trust our work, and in due time that work's going to come to show. Tonight it did, and it feels good. Things happen like that in a season, but you just have to find a way to push through."
Added Quinerly: We put the work in every day, so it was no time to get down on ourselves for having a little slump. We just had to keep playing."
Jordan Bruner getting hot for Alabama
Jordan Bruner was one of Alabama’s most anticipated additions heading into the season. In recent games, the Yale graduate transfer is beginning to demonstrate why. After recording a season-high 14 points against Western Kentucky over the weekend, the 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward had another strong performance against ETSU, scoring 8 points and eight rebounds. Bruner now has 8 or more points and five or more rebounds in each of his last three games.
"We're starting to see it," Oats said. "He led the Ivy League in rebounding, so we anticipated him being a really good rebounder for us. I think part of the rebounding, he kind of had to figure out where shots were coming from in our offense. He's a really analytical type of guy if you know him. He probably overthinks a lot of things, but that's a positive and sometimes a negative. I think he's gotten a lot more comfortable in the system. The pace is a lot different than what it was at Yale."
Bruner also finished 2 of 4 from the floor with a 3 and added four assists to just one turnover over 22 minutes of play.
Rebounding was better
Alabama’s biggest inconsistency this season has come on the boards as the Tide’s effort hasn’t always been apparent. That wasn’t the case Tuesday night as Alabama outrebounded ETSU 39-29. That led to a 21-2 advantage in second-chance points which ultimately proved the difference. Alabama also held a 34-16 advantage in the paint.
Playing without John Petty Jr. and James Rojas due to an “in-house decision,” Alabama (5-3) got off to another slow start before using a 23-7 second-half run to put away ETSU (4-4).
Alabama head coach Nate Oats didn't go in depth on Petty and Jones' absence, stating that he expects the duo to be back for the Tide's next game. Alabama will open up SEC play next Tuesday (Dec. 29) when it hosts Ole Miss at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
"It was a coach's decision that they wouldn't be in the building tonight. I fully anticipate both of them being back after Christmas for the first conference game. I'm going to leave it at that."
Alabama took advantage of 20 ETSU turnovers, turning them into 20 points. The Tide also flashed its depth, holding a 26-12 advantage in bench scoring.
Here are three observations from Alabama’s win over East Tennessee State.
Shackelford, Quinerly break out of slumps
Alabama guards Jahvon Quinerly and Jaden Shackelford both headed into Tuesday night’s matchup looking to shake off slumps.
Shackelford came into the matchup just 2 of 14 from beyond the arc over his last three games. Meanwhile, Quinerly was relegated to the bench for the Tide’s loss to Western Kentucky over the weekend and came into Tuesday’s game averaging just 6.33 points over his last three outings.
Tuesday, Shackelford led the Tide with 26 points while sinking a career-high 8 3-pointers. The sophomore was 8 of 13 from beyond the arc on the night. Quinerly tallied 14 points and a career-high nine assists. The former McDonalds All-American finished the night 4 of 8 from the floor and had just one turnover over 35 minutes, a stark improvement over his season-high six giveaways over the weekend.
"It feels good," Shackelford said. "We're in the gym all the time, we trust the process. We trust our work, and in due time that work's going to come to show. Tonight it did, and it feels good. Things happen like that in a season, but you just have to find a way to push through."
Added Quinerly: We put the work in every day, so it was no time to get down on ourselves for having a little slump. We just had to keep playing."
Jordan Bruner getting hot for Alabama
Jordan Bruner was one of Alabama’s most anticipated additions heading into the season. In recent games, the Yale graduate transfer is beginning to demonstrate why. After recording a season-high 14 points against Western Kentucky over the weekend, the 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward had another strong performance against ETSU, scoring 8 points and eight rebounds. Bruner now has 8 or more points and five or more rebounds in each of his last three games.
"We're starting to see it," Oats said. "He led the Ivy League in rebounding, so we anticipated him being a really good rebounder for us. I think part of the rebounding, he kind of had to figure out where shots were coming from in our offense. He's a really analytical type of guy if you know him. He probably overthinks a lot of things, but that's a positive and sometimes a negative. I think he's gotten a lot more comfortable in the system. The pace is a lot different than what it was at Yale."
Bruner also finished 2 of 4 from the floor with a 3 and added four assists to just one turnover over 22 minutes of play.
Rebounding was better
Alabama’s biggest inconsistency this season has come on the boards as the Tide’s effort hasn’t always been apparent. That wasn’t the case Tuesday night as Alabama outrebounded ETSU 39-29. That led to a 21-2 advantage in second-chance points which ultimately proved the difference. Alabama also held a 34-16 advantage in the paint.
Last edited:
