Alabama Pulls Away from Jackson State after Sloppy Start

The Crimson Tide heads into conference play with 10 wins for the first time since 2014.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The final score might not indicate it, but Alabama’s 20-point victory over Jackson State was anything but pretty.

The Crimson Tide beat the Tigers 84-64 inside Coleman Coliseum Tuesday night behind double-figure scoring performances from five players.

Alabama used a strong final few minutes to finally put away Jackson State. Thanks to 13 turnovers in the first half alone, the Crimson Tide only had a one-point halftime lead. Alabama was able to cut down on turnovers in the second half and get 15 points from Mark Sears. 

With Noah Clowney out with illness, Nick Pringle had a season-high 14 points in 19 minutes. Noah Gurley led Alabama in scoring with a season-high 16 points. 

"Different guys stepped up," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said after the game. "I thought Mark Sears’ defense in the second half was significantly better. I thought Pringle gave us some big minutes.”

Jackson State is led by former all-SEC guard for Alabama Mo Williams. After the game, Williams said he's been trying to schedule a game against his former team ever since he became a head coach. He was proud of the way his guys competed and likely made the Alabama players work harder than they were planning too. 

"I’m proud of the way my guys competed against a top-10 team in the country," Williams said after the game. 

Alabama now enters conference play with 10 wins for the first time since 2014. The Crimson Tide will be on a short break for the holidays before opening up SEC play at Mississippi State on Dec. 28 at 8 p.m.

"Good win going into the holidays," Oats said. "Gonna give the guys a few days off at Christmas, and then get ready to play SEC games."

How it happened... 

Live Updates

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Second Half

FINAL: No. 9 Alabama 84, Jackson State 64

• 2:17- Alabama finally starting to pull away with an emphatic dunk from Brandon Miller. Crimson Tide leads 76-62
• Miller reaches a double-double with the dunk and has a season high in rebounds with 14. 

• 3:27- Alabama leads 71-60 at the under-4 media timeout. 

• 5:06- Mark Sears is 3-of-5 from beyond the arc in the second half, with all 13 of his points coming in the second half. Two free throws from him have pushed the Alabama lead to 69-57. 

• 7:56- Alabama leads 59-50 at the under-8 media timeout. Brandon Miller has only attempted one shot for the Crimson Tide in the second half. 

• 11:29- Alabama leads Jackson State 56-45 at the under-12 media timeout. 

• 14:09- Nate Oats is issued a technical foul arguing with the officials while the Crimson Tide leads 50-38. 

• 14:49- A 3-pointer from Mark Sears opens up the Crimson Tide to its largest lead at 47-36. 

• 15:21- Quinerly converts an and-1 to push the Alabama lead to 44-36.

• 15:31- At the first media timeout of the second half, Alabama leads 41-36. 

• After turning it over 13 times in the first half, Alabama's first possession of the second half is a turnover on an illegal screen from Brandon Miller. 

Halftime Notes

• Overall, a really ugly half of basketball. 
• Alabama had 13 first-half turnovers, which directly led to 10 Jackson State points. 
• Nick Pringle has a season-high 10 points in the first half alone. He also has five rebounds and is the only Alabama player in double figures. 
• Alabama shot just 3 of 14 from the 3-point line. 
• Brandon Miller played 19 minutes for the Crimson Tide and had eight rebounds. 

First Half

HALFTIME: No. 9 Alabama 33, Jackson State 32

• 1:17- Nine straight points for Jackson State after Alabama had built up it's largest lead. Nate Oats calls timeout after another Crimson Tide turnover leads to an easy basket for the Tigers. Alabama holds a slim 31-30 lead.

• 1:41- Jackson State calls a timeout down 31-25. 

• 3:45- A slam from Pringle gives Alabama its largest lead at 29-21. Pringle is up to eight points and five rebounds. 

• 4:34- Alley oop from Bradley to Miller provides a spark in Coleman. Alabama leads 27-21

• Crimson Tide is shooting 34 percent from the floor and 23 percent from beyond the arc. 

• 7:28- Pringle slams one home to give Alabama a 20-14 lead. He is up to six points, which is a season high. 

• 8:21- Pringle makes his first free throw of the game. Alabama retakes the lead, 16-14

• 9:26- A dunk from Charles Bediako ends a scoring drought of over four minutes. Alabama leads 14-11. Jackson State hasn't scored in more than six minutes of game time. 

• The starters are back in after the media timeout as both teams are now in scoring droughts of at least three minutes. 

• 11:43- At the under-12 media timeout, Alabama leads 12-11. Nick Pringle is 0 of 4 from the free throw line. 

• Alabama currently has Jahvon Quinerly, Rylan Griffen, Darius Miles, Noah Gurley and Nick Pringle on the floor. Oats appears to be letting the backups prove themselves tonight. 

• 13:57- Alabama takes its first lead of the game on two free throws from Darius Miles. Crimson Tide up 12-11

• 14:56- Back-to-back 3-pointers for the Crimson Tide pull Alabama within one at 11-10. 

• 15:45- Jackson State leads 9-4 after a basket in transition. Tigers take a timeout. Alabama playing sloppy early on, and the coaching staff isn't hoppy. 

• 17:45- Jackson State takes a 7-2 lead on a 3-pointer from Evans. 

• Noah Gurley slams one home for Alabama's first basket of the game to tie it at 2-2. 

• Alabama wins the opening tip, and this game is underway.

Pregame

• Mo Williams gets a nice cheer from the Coleman crowd when his name is announced after the Jackson State starting lineups. 

• With Clowney out, Noah Gurley gets his first start of the season. 
• Alabama starting lineup:
• Jaden Bradley
• Mark Sears
• Brandon Miller
• Noah Gurley
• Charles Bediako
• Jackson State starting lineup:
• Ken Evans Jr. 
• Trace Young
• Coltie Young
• Keiveon Hunt
• JaMarcus Jones

• Forward Noah Clowney is OUT tonight with an illness per Chris Stewart on the CTSN broadcast. Alabama head coach Nate Oats said yesterday that the program was dealing with some illness right now. 
• Tonight's officials: Todd Austin, Jeffrey Anderson and Bharat Ramnanan.

How to Watch Alabama vs Jackson State

Who: No. 4 Alabama (9-2) vs Jackson State (1-10)

When: 6 p.m. CT, Tuesday

Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

TV: SEC Network

Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart; Analyst: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Series: Alabama leads the all-time series vs Jackson State 3-0.

Last Meeting: On Nov. 17, 2009, Alabama defeated Jackson State 86-69. Of the Crimson Tide starters, Mikhail Torrance and JaMychal Green lead with 13 points each, while Torrance amassed a solid eight assists. However, it was the Alabama bench that stole the show. Tony Mitchell recorded a team-leading 23 points alongside five rebounds, while Charvez Davis amassed 16 points of his own in the win.

Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide lost for the second-consecutive year in the C.M. Newton Classic, this time to Gonzaga by a final score of 100-90. Alabama rocketed out of the gate to a 20-11 lead, but Drew Timme and the Bulldogs had other plans. Brandon Miller led the Crimson Tide with a massive 36 points, followed by Jaden Bradley with his 18 points. Alabama was able to cut into the Gonzaga lead at multiple points in the second half, but the Crimson Tide's defense could not stop the Bulldogs's offense.

Last time out, Jackson State: It was an ugly outing for the Tigers on Saturday against Texas Tech as Jackson State was thumped by the Red Raiders 102-52. The game marked the Tigers' 10th loss out of its first 11 games. Keionte Cornelius led the Tigers with 12 points while Jamarcus Jones had 10, but neither were nearly enough in the Jackson State loss.

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