TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team dropped its season opener 81-57 to No. 25 Alabama at Coleman Coliseum on Wednesday.
 
A Gamecock squad that features 11 newcomers and four returners saw all 15 log minutes against the Southeastern Conference's Crimson Tide.
 
Four new starters hit the floor with Brandon Huffman, Amanze Ngumezi, Darian Adams and Jalen Finch getting the nod from head coach Ray Harper. Senior Kayne Henry was the lone returning starter from last season's squad, making Wednesday's starting five the first since 2015-16 to have four brand-new starters marked in the scorebook on opening night.
 
Labeled one of the most underrated top-25 teams in the nation, Alabama shot 39 percent and scored a whopping 42 points in the paint. Despite the 24-point final, Jax State was competitive in the first half and saw glimpses of a potent offense in the second half.
 
"We knew how difficult this game was going to be," Harper said. "It was our first time out with 11 new guys, but I saw some things I think we can build on and we competed. We had a lot of guys play, and we wanted to give everyone a look to see what we can kind of expect moving forward. I think we were able to do that, and hopefully we're better Friday than we were today."
 
Alabama out-rebounded JSU 55-49 and outscored the new-look Gamecocks 23-9 on second-chance points; 16 of which came in the final period. In the first half, rebounds were tied and the Tide had just one more second-chance point than Jax State.
 
"Second shots hurt us at times," Harper said. "When we kept them off the offensive boards we were good, but they turned second shots into points when they got them."
 
The Gamecocks trailed by one, 11-10, after seven minutes of play. Senior Martin Roub came off the bench to score five first-half points, including a bucket that saw the forward rebound his own failed 3-point attempt and put it back for two, but Alabama would shut the JSU offense down for the next 11 possessions.
 
Henry scored the only three points between the 12-minute and eight-minute media timeouts while the Crimson Tide rode a 12-2 wave during the Jacksonville State drought. At the end of the stretch, topped off by a Jaden Shackelford 3-pointer, Alabama had extended its lead to nine.
 
Despite Henry's best efforts to keep the home team within reach, AU took a 36-24 lead into the half. All seven of Henry's first-half points came in the final eight minutes of the period.
 
Jacksonville State enjoyed a four-minute stretch in the second that saw Alabama score just two points on 1-for-10 shooting. Ngumezi began the 10-2 run with a dunk, and sophomore Juwan Perdue doubled up with a jumpshot following a Crimson Tide turnover. Roub and Demaree King banged back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the JSU deficit down to 10 with less than 15 minutes to play.
 
Unfortunately for Jacksonville State, the offense went cold minutes after the outburst and Alabama soon opened up the lead to a game-high 30 points. King scored nine of the Gamecocks' final 11 points to soften the blow, bringing his team-leading total to 15 points in his Division I debut.
 
King was the lone Gamecock to score in double figures, trailed by eight points each from Ngumezi and Roub. Roub also led the rebounds efforts with eight boards to set a new career high.
 
For the Crimson Tide, Shackelford and Herbert Jones registered double-doubles. Both Shackelford and Jahvon Quinerly tallied 18 points, while John Petty Jr. registered 14 points.
 
Next on the agenda for the Gamecocks is a bus ride to Mobile, Ala., for the Goldie & Herman Ungar Memorial Tournament at the University of South Alabama. JSU is scheduled to play Florida Atlantic at noon Friday, Nov. 27. After taking Saturday off, the Gamecocks return to action Sunday, Nov. 19 against South Alabama at 4 p.m. and wrap up the tournament Monday, Nov. 30 against the University of Mobile at 2 p.m.
 
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