Live Updates: Alabama Basketball Hosts Furman Paladins

Second Half

Final: Alabama 83, Furman 80

2.2 seconds remaining and Shackelford is fouled once again. He misses his third and fourth free throw in a row, but it's too late up in the inbound for Furman.

Shackelford gets two more on a layup. On Furman's possession, Shackelford gets an offensive rebound. Furman fouls Shackelford, sending him to the line. He misses both.

Bothwell to shoot two, makes both of them to cut the lead to three for Alabama.

It should be noted that so far, Alabama has out-rebounded Furman 47-25 with less than 30 seconds to go.

Jones hits a layup for two. Alabama leads 81-76 with 27.4 left to go. On the ensuing possession for Furman, Shackelford is called for a foul. Needless to say, the Crimson Tide faithful in attendance are none too pleased.

Rebound by Jones, Rojas nails a three to give Alabama the lead with 1:07 remaining. 79-76 Alabama. Timeout Furman.

Offensive foul on Slawson gives Petty the opportunity for a trip to the free-throw line. Petty ties the game with his first, then misses his second. 76-76 with 1:45 left to go.

After a huge scuffle under the net, Petty somehow ends up with the ball and makes the layup. Alabama down by one with just under two minutes remaining.

Shot clock violation called on Furman. Alabama basketball.

Timeout Furman, who had a player boxed on the side of the court with five seconds left on the shot clock. Alabama still trails 76-73 with 2:48 left to go.

Hien to shoot two, makes both. Three-point lead for the Paladins.

A block by Jones brings Alabama storming back down the court. Primo misses a three, but the ball is rebounded by Jones. Jones then proceeds forward with a layup for two. 74-73 Furman with 3:28 remaining.

A fast-break layup by Shackelford brings the Crimson Tide back within three.

Petty is fouled on the Paladins' end of the court and makes one of two.

Jones has now picked up an assist for the Crimson Tide with 16 points and 10 rebounds in tonight's game.

Hunter hits a quick three for Furman. The Paladins have extended their lead back to six.

Shackelford gets two on the layup. The Crimson Tide has now cut the score down to 71-68 in favor of the Paladins. Timeout Furman.

Rojas is giving it all this half, picking up two offensive rebounds in the same possession. His third attempt he dives for the ball, but is just short. Furman ball.

Field goal by Jones cuts Furman's lead to five.

Fouled by Rojas, Slawson makes one of his two free throws.

Rojas gets a layup to bring Alabama back within six.

Shot clock violation called on Furman. Ball goes to Alabama.

Timeout on the floor. With 7:55 remaining, Alabama trails 70-62.

Mounce has now fouled out of the game with his fifth personal.

Three-point basket by Mounce counts along with a foul by Jones. Mounce hits the and-one. Lead back to 70-61 for Furman.

Shackelford fouled on his way to the rim. The sophomore guard hits both of his free throws to cut the Paladins' lead to five. 8:45 remaining.

Rojas responds with his first three of the game, assisted by Shackelford. The Crimson Tide is back to its seven-point deficit.

Bothwell nails a deep three-point shot. Furman regains a 10-point lead.

A field goal by Jones bring the Crimson Tide back within seven. 10:13 remaining in the contest, Furman leads 63-56.

Timeout on the floor after Shackelford is called for a traveling violation. Furman leads 60-54 with 11:41 remaining.

Rojas fouled at the rim and makes both of his free throws.

Shackelford fouled on the way up after a fast break. First free throw is good, followed by his second. The Crimson Tide has cut the Paladins' lead to six with 12:38 remaining.

Gary slams home a dunk for two. 58-50 Furman at the 13-minute mark.

Alabama is now zero for its last four in field goals and hasn't scored from the floor in the last 3:42.

Gary misses his first but makes his second at the charity stripe. The Crimson Tide is still behind by 10 with 13:43 remaining.

Pugh fouls Jones at the rim. Jones goes to the line and misses both. Alabama trails 58-47 with 14:39 remaining in the game.

Media timeout.

Field goal by Keon Ellis brings Alabama within seven. Furman leads 54-47 with 16:45 remaining in the game.

Quinerly hits a deep three, assisted by Herbert Jones. 49-42 Furman.

Clock seems to have been fixed, and Bruner get two with a layup, assisted by Jones.

There seems to be an issue with the shot clock here in Coleman Coliseum. The officials have stopped play twice now in the first 10 seconds of the game because the shot clock hasn't ticked past 25 seconds.

Halftime Notes

Herb Jones leads Alabama in both points and rebounds with nine and four, respectively.

While out on the court for the least amount of minutes with five so far in the contest, Juwan Gary is second on the Crimson Tie in points with seven. He is also tied for second in rebounds with three.

Furman already has three double-digit shooters in the contest between Bothwell, Gurley and Mounce. Bothwell and Gurley both have 13 points while Mounce sits at 12. Slawson leads the team in rebounds with four.

Oats was clearly not happy with the effort demonstrated from his team in the first half. While the Crimson Tide started to progress around the six-minute mark, Furman is still outshooting Alabama 62 percent to 40 percent from the floor.

First Half

Halftime: Furman 47, Alabama 37

Gary get two with a dunk, assisted by Bruner.

Furman finally misses a layup after going five for its last five. Gary is fouled during a layup attempt and heads to the line for two. Makes his first but falters on the second. Paladins lead 47-35 with under a minute left in the first half.

Mounce hits his second three of the game for Furman.

Timeout Furman. Oats is still yelling at his team, primarily at Petty and Primo. 44-32 Paladins with just under three minutes left.

Bothwell hits a three, but Bruner answers right back for the Crimson Tide.

The Crimson Tide's effort has improved slowly but surely as the half has progressed, but Alabama still has a long way to go if it wants to please Nate Oats. Oats has been constantly yelling at the team during every break in the action. He is clearly not happy with his team's performance so far tonight.

Herbert Jones hits a three from the near corner, assisted by Reese. Alabama now trails Furman 38-29 at the under-four media timeout.

Reese hits a wide-open three, assisted by Petty. The Crimson Tide have cut the Paladins' lead to 10 with 5:23 remaining in the half. 34-24 Furman.

For the Paladins, Gurley is having a heck of a first half with nine points and a rebound. Slawson leads Furman in rebounds with four.

At the under-eight timeout, the Crimson Tide trails the Paladins 32-19 with 7:37 remaining in the first half. Primo leads Alabama in points with five, while Bruner leads the team in rebounds with three.

Shackelford nails a three for his first points of the game.

Mounce hits a three from the corner. Furman has now doubled-up Alabama 32-16 with 8:02 remaining in the first half.

Reese has returned to the game and is no longer limping. His trip to the exercise bike seemed to work out whatever issue he was having.

Bruner is called for an offensive foul. Ball is given back to Furman.

Reese is now limping and is having trouble standing during the timeout. He is now heading slowly to the exercise bike.

During the timeout huddle on the court, Reese is sitting away from the players massaging his right knee. He most likely hurt it during his hard fall that he took earlier.

Alabama is now one of its last seven. Furman on the other hand is on a 12-2 run over the last 3:39. 29-14 Furman with 10:41 remaining in the first half.

Reese took a spill off the court diving for a ball that he had jarred loose. The play was the most effort demonstrated by the Crimson Tide so far tonight.

Primo is fouled while making a layup, basket counts. Primo comes to the line for the and-1 and misses. 20-14 Furman.

Reese nails a three after the media timeout, but Pugh for the Paladins responds in kind. 20-12 Paladins with 14:24 remaining.

Gurley hits a three in response. Gurley is now 5-for-5 from the floor, totaling eight points in the first four minutes.

Josh Primo is subbed into the game, immediately hits a three.

Timeout Alabama with 16:39 remaining in the first after a monster dunk by Mounce. Furman is playing with a much higher level of effort than Alabama at this point in time. The Paladins lead the Crimson Tide 13-6.

Jones is fouled and is sent to the line. The senior wing nails both of his free throws. 7-4 Furman.

After a defensive rebound by Petty, Bruner gets a layup of his own. 2-2 at the 18-minute mark.

Furman wins the opening tip and Gurley knocks in a layup for two.

Pregame

Alabama starting five: Herb Jones, wing; Jordan Bruner, forward; Jaden Shackelford, guard; Jahvon Quinerly, guard; John Petty Jr., guard.

The Five.

🅶 𝟏𝟑
🅶 𝟓
🅶 𝟐𝟑
🅵 𝟏
🅵 𝟐#BamaFirstFive pic.twitter.com/DBvksJGlKy
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) December 16, 2020

Furman starting five: Mike Bothwell, guard; Noah Gurley, forward; Alex Hunter, guard; Robert Slawson, guard; Clay Mounce, forward.

Tonight's officials: Tony Greene, Gerry Pollard, Brent Hampton.

Alabama and Furman are both on the court, the national anthem has been sung, and everyone in Coleman Coliseum is ready for some basketball.

Ready to go at @AlabamaMBB! Tune in on the @SECNetwork! #RollTide pic.twitter.com/wLIrOUa0My
— Alabama Athletics (@UA_Athletics) December 16, 2020

Game Preview

It won't be Alabama basketball's home opener, although it may feel like it.

For the first time since Nov. 25, the Crimson Tide will play at Coleman Coliseum when it hosts Furman on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

Alabama's played four times since them, including three games in the relocated Maui Invitational at Asheville, N.C., and last Saturday's 64-56 loss to Clemson in the Holiday Hoopsgiving in Atlanta.

Furman (5-1) is coming off an 86-61 victory over Flagler on Saturday. It took its first loss last Wednesday at Cincinnati, 78-73.

The teams played last year, and the Paladins returned four starters from the team that finished second in the Southern Conference (25-7 overall, 15-3 league). It was tabbed this year's preseason favorite by league media and picked second by the coaches.

Game Notes

Series history: Alabama leads 2-0.

Last meeting: Alabama won 81-73 at Coleman Coliseum last year. Jaden Shackelford had 25 points while John Petty Jr. added 16 to lead four Alabama players in double figures. The Crimson Tide used a 15-6 second half run that turned a 50-50 tie game into a 65-56 advantage with just under four minutes remaining. It out-rebounded the Paladins 43-34 while knocking down 20-of-27 (74.1 percent) free throws including 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) in the second half.

Tide-bits: Alabama is 3-2 on the young season. Four players are averaging 12 or more points per game, Petty (13.8 points), Jahvon Quinerly (13.6), Herbert Jones (12.8) and Jaden Shackelford (12.2). Jones leads the team in rebounding (6.4), steals (1.4), charges taken (2), Blue Collar Points (108, 27.0 per game) and Hard Hat Awards (4). The trio of Petty (11-of-33), Shackelford (9-of-25) and Quinerly (6-of-19) have combined to hit 26 of the Tide’s 44 three-pointers made this season (26-of-77, 33.8 percent).

Scouting report: Furman is 5-1, including 1-1 mark in true road games. The Paladins have outscored opponents by 24.2 points per game (85.8-61.7), while shooting 50.0 percent from the field, 33.1 percent from three-point range and 75.2 percent from the free-throw line. Mike Bothwell leads the team in scoring (17.7), assists (4.2), steals (2.0) and minutes played (30.3). Clay Mounce is averaging 15.8 points and 5.7 rebounds, with Noah Gurley right behind him at 13.8 points and 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.

This story will be updated with live updates throughout the contest.