Sophomore Jahvon Quinerly celebrated his 22nd birthday by scoring a career-high 18 points to help Alabama earn a season-opening 81-57 victory over Jacksonville State on Wednesday in Tuscaloosa.

Quinerly was playing in his first game after sitting out last season following a transfer from Villanova. He provided a punch for a Crimson Tide team that lost leading scorer Kira Lewis Jr., who was selected by New Orleans with the 13th overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft.

Alabama sophomore Jaden Shackelford recorded his first career double-double (18 points, career-best 11 rebounds) and senior Herbert Jones notched his fourth (12 points, 12 rebounds).

John Petty Jr. scored nine of his 14 points in the second half for the Crimson Tide, who are looking to take a step forward in Nate Oats' second season behind the bench. Alabama went 16-15 last season.

Demaree King made four 3-pointers and finished with 15 points for the Gamecocks, who shot just 27.5 percent from the floor and 28.1 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Martin Roub added eight points and eight rebounds in the loss.

Alabama scored the final six points of the first half and the first six of the second to seize a 42-24 lead. Shackelford made two layups and Quinerly sank a pair of free throws to start the second before Amanze Ngumezi's dunk ended the surge.

Jacksonville State trimmed the Crimson Tide's lead to 46-34 before Quinerly made his team's first 3-pointer of the second half. That shot appeared to light a fire under Alabama, which soon expanded the margin to 68-42.

Midway into the first half, Quinerly and Shackelford each drained a 3-pointer to highlight an 8-0 run for the Crimson Tide, who secured a 21-12 lead.

Kayne Henry's three-point play ended a pronounced drought for Jacksonville State, but Petty and James Rojas each sank a 3-pointer as the Crimson Tide finished the first half on a surge to take a 36-24 lead at intermission.

--Field Level Media