TUSCALOOSA – Jacksonville State's men's basketball team jumped out to an early lead and then rallied late to push No. 6 Alabama to the brink Saturday night, before falling 65-59 at Coleman Coliseum.
 
JSU's (5-6) highest-ever ranked opponent with the No. 6 Crimson Tide (9-2) was also the closest the Gamecocks have come to beating any top 25 squad. The six-point final margin was the first time Jax State came within single digits of knocking off a ranked foe, beating the 11-point loss to No. 14 Murray State in January of 2012.
 
Senior Darian Adams led a valiant Gamecock effort with a team-high 18, joined in double figures by Jalen Gibbs (12) and Kayne Henry (10). Jay Pal also put in quality minutes with seven points and a team-best seven boards.
 
JSU's upset bid came in part due to holding one of the hottest offenses in the nation to 20 points below their season average. UA leading scorer Jaden Shackelford, who entered averaging over 18 points per game, was not only held below 10 for the first time this season, but was held scoreless for the first time in his 75-game career.  
 
Back-to-back treys opened the game just the way Alabama wanted and pushed the Crimson Tide out to a quick 11-5 lead. A physical layin by Huffman sparked JSU's rally that including a breakaway dunk by Gibbs and a corner triple from Adams to cap a 15-2 Gamecock run and force a UA timeout.
 
After JSU led 20-13, Alabama worked it back to a one-point contest at 23-22, before Perdue and Pal pushed Jax State out ahead by five with 2:30 to play in the half. A tough final few minutes led to some empty possessions on both ends, but Alabama had one final try with three ticks left down by a pair when Jahvon Quinerly buried a deep three at the buzzer to put the Tide ahead 29-28 at the intermission.  
 
Jax State didn't fade in the second half, keeping it a one-score game throughout the next nine minutes. Adams and Henry had game-tying baskets at 37 and 39, before a layup from Pal put the Gamecocks in front 41-39.
 
The lead didn't last and a bottled-up explosive offense finally burst free for a span of six minutes to turn the momentum. Alabama started on an 8-0 run that ended as a 21-3 stretch to grab a commanding 60-44 advantage with five minutes remaining. JSU chipped away at the deficit and a triple from Demaree King put it back in single-digits with 3:02 to play. Adams made it a five-point contest with just over a minute to go, but the Gamecocks were turned away in the final possessions.
 
JSU travels to Little Rock for a Tuesday afternoon contest to wrap up play before the Christmas break.