South Dakota State came for a track meet Friday in Coleman Coliseum and that’s exactly what it got.
The pace was brisk but there was no answer strong enough after No. 14 Alabama hit the afterburners in a few second-half runs in a 104-88 Crimson Tide win. It took a little longer to pull away than in the 93-64 season-opening win over Louisiana Tech and it could be argued Alabama never fully put SDSU away.
It was a high-energy night when Alabama went on a 10-0 run over a 1:15 span early in the second half before scoring 11 straight later to effectively end the upset bid. But SDSU never fully went away by shooting 54.3% in the second half on a night with a concerning first-half moment.
Sophomore Juwan Gary left with what appeared to be a painful right ankle injury. The Columbia, South Carolina product wasn’t putting weight on his right leg as he was helped to the dressing room with 6:02 left in the first half.
“It’s a soft tissue injury,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “I’m not quite sure what it is but we’re going to get an MRI first thing in the morning and we’ll know more from there.”
Alabama (2-0) got 26 points from Jahvon Quinerly and 23 from Jaden Shackelford as a poor shooting first half gave way to a more Alabama-like second 20 minutes. The Tide was 8-for-19 from the perimeter after halftime as Quinerly’s four makes led the team on 15 attempts.
Keon Ellis added a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds on a night Alabama got the most of its 47-38 rebounding edge. After going +37 in the plus-minus in the opener, Miles was +26 on Friday as his presence on the floor clearly helps. He had five of Alabama’s 18 offensive rebounds that turned into a 26-6 second-chance points advantage.
Oats, however, said the Jackrabbits exposed some of the defensive flaws of his fairly young team that still has some fundamental issues to solve on that end of the floor.
“There were times in the game where we could have buried them and just didn’t get the stops we needed to to get that,” Oats said. “A lot of stuff to work on but that’s why we play these games.”
The defense clicked during a three-possession stretch in the second half during the 11-0 run. Alabama had stuff blocks at the rim by Noah Gurley, Charles Bediako and Darius Miles that led to baskets on the other end.
“When our defense was good, our offense was feeding off of it pretty well. We just need more of that. I think our athleticism took the game. Some of the guards had a hard time scoring over (7-foot) Charles. We were significantly better when Charles was in the game.”
Bediako had 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting with six rebounds after a foul-plagued opener with Louisiana Tech. He smiled when asked about the nickname he got after arriving in Tuscaloosa.
“Well, Angry Chuck is something we all talk about in practice,” Bediako said. “I think it’s just a trigger point for me. I can get more aggressive and I think that’s what they need from me. I don’t know who said Angry Chuck first but it’s something they keep in mind when I start getting going and start getting rebounds. So, Angry Chuck it is.”
The first half saw runs going both directions As Alabama led by as many as eight before falling behind 36-32. Perimeter shooting was just 5-for-21 in the first half but got help from the accurate left hand of Miles. After making all three of his 3-pointers against Louisiana Tech, the Washington D.C. product went 3-for-3 in the first half.
The quick run early in the second half left Alabama 3-for-5 from the perimeter in the opening minutes of the second half.
Alabama’s homestand continues at 6:30 p.m. CT Tuesday when South Alabama visits Coleman Coliseum.
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.
