South Dakota State Jackrabbits vs Alabama Crimson Tide Box Score on Nov 12, 2021

Jahvon Quinerly had 26 points and eight assists and led five scorers in double figures as No. 14 Alabama pulled away for a 104-88 victory over South Dakota State Friday night in a matchup of up-tempo teams in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Jaden Shackelford added 23 points and Keon Ellis had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Crimson Tide (2-0). Noah Freidel scored 23 points for the Jackrabbits (1-1), who also had five scorers in double digits.

After trailing by as many as 12 points, the Jackrabbits cut their deficit to 68-63 on a 3-pointer by Zeke Mayo with 10:20 left, but an 11-0 Alabama run put the game away. The Jackrabbits didn't get closer than 10 after that, and were limited to 29.0 percent shooting from 3-point range for the game by the Alabama defense.

The momentum changed in the final two minutes of the first half. A turnover by Freidel led to a runout for the Crimson Tide. Charles Bediako, who made the steal, eventually got the ball back on a pass from Ellis for a fast-break dunk, cutting the deficit to 36-34 and starting a half-ending 9-2 run that gave Alabama a 41-38 lead at the break.

Bediako had another basket and Darius Miles hit a trey during the run, which was capped by a jumper by Quinerly with 25 seconds left in the half.

Alabama's offense kept clicking early in the second half, as the Crimson Tide made six consecutive attempts from the floor at one point to extend the lead to 56-44 with 16:10 left. Quinerly made two 3-pointers during that sequence.

Alabama's biggest lead of the first half was eight, at 28-20 on a Miles 3-pointer with 8:53 left. But the Crimson Tide went cold later in the half, failing to score for a span of 2:48. The Jackrabbits took advantage, going ahead 36-32 with 3:55 left in the half on a jumper by Alex Arians. There was no more scoring in the half until the run that put the hosts ahead to stay.

--Field Level Media