Jaden Shackelford scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Tuesday night as No. 14 Alabama produced a late 6-0 run to hold off South Alabama 73-68 in Tuscaloosa.
Keon Ellis added 18 points and six rebounds for the Crimson Tide (3-0), who overcame sub-par shooting to stay unbeaten. They made just 44.3 percent from the field, including a poor 7 of 27 (25.9 percent) from 3-point range, and were just 12 of 19 at the foul line.
Darius Miles added 10 points for Alabama, hitting a couple of free throws down the stretch and adding a steal to seal the outcome. The Tide overcame 22 turnovers because they were able to force 21 and limit the Jaguars to 38.5 percent shooting from the field.
Charles Manning scored a game-high 23 points for South Alabama but also coughed up seven turnovers. Kayo Goncalves added 12 — all on 3-pointers — and Javon Franklin chipped in an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double.
The game was tied at 62 when Manning canned a 3-pointer with 3:09 left. However, Alabama quickly scored the next six points. Jahvon Quinerly hit a layup, and the Tide got two free throws each from Charles Bediako and Ellis for a 68-62 advantage with 1:32 remaining.
Alabama threw the first punch in this in-state battle, establishing a 10-2 lead less than four minutes into the game after Bediako converted a layup.
South Alabama responded with an 8-0 spurt that set the game’s pattern — the Crimson Tide made a run and the Jaguars responded. The teams swapped the lead for a couple of minutes until South Alabama pieced together a 9-3 burst for a 24-19 advantage on Jay Jay Chandler’s jumper at the 8:25 mark.
Alabama rallied to tie the game at 26 on a 3-pointer by Shackelford with 4:06 left, but the Jaguars quickly scored the next six points. Manning made sure South Alabama got to halftime with the advantage as he connected on a layup with three seconds remaining, and the Jaguars led 34-31 at intermission.
–Field Level Media
