No. 11 Alabama 96, Jackson St. 65

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Posted 12:18AM on Saturday, November 11, 2006

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alonzo Gee said he wasn't expecting to get off to such a fast start in Alabama's 96-65 win over Jackson State on Friday night. ``It just came,'' said Gee, who scored on a crushing dunk in the game's opening minute and finished with 10 points of the Crimson Tide's first 11 points. The fast start by Gee got the crowd into the game early. Gee said he was just doing what Coach Mark Gottfried told him to do. ``Coach just told us to go out and play hard and run the floor,'' Gee said. ``It was a team effort. Without the team I wouldn't have gotten those open shots.'' After Gee's fast start, Alabama went on to lead by as many as 33 points and never trailed in the opener for both teams. Jackson State was outgunned despite an amazing game by the Southwestern Athletic Conference's preseason player of the year, Trey Johnson, who scored 36 points, more than half the total for the Tigers. While the rest of Jackson State team was stymied, Johnson hit shots from every part of the field. But Johnson said it wasn't his best game. ``It's not just about scoring. I could have played better and made more plays for my team,'' Johnson said. Jemareo Davidson had a double-double for Alabama with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Mykal Riley, a junior college transfer playing his first game for Alabama, scored 17 points including three 3-pointers. Davidson also had six blocked shots as the Tide rejected a total of 14 shots, setting a record for Alabama in Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide played 14 of the 15 players on its roster and 10 players scored for Alabama. Jackson State coach Tevester Anderson said he was impressed with the way Alabama played. ``If they shoot the ball in future games in the conference like they did tonight, there's no question they will win the conference championship,'' Anderson said. Preseason All-America point guard Ronald Steele had eight points and six assists despite being hampered by a sore knee and playing only 23 minutes. Steele said his knee felt better Friday night. ``I wasn't 100 percent, but I felt confident cutting on my knee. I felt like my conditioning was a little bit off,'' Steele said. Alabama started fast as Gee finished an opening minute fast break with the dunk as the Crimson Tide took a 2-0 lead and never looked back. Gee followed that up with a a couple of 3-pointers in the next two minutes and scored 10 of the Crimson Tide's first 11 points as Alabama streaked to 20-9 lead in the first eight minutes and were ahead 51-29 at halftime. The Tigers had trouble keeping up with the Crimson Tide's speed and depth. Alabama had eight players score in the first half and continuously beat the Tigers down the court on fast breaks. Any chance the Tigers had of getting back into the game disappeared in the opening minutes of the second half as the Tide outscored the Tigers 16-3 in the first three minutes and took a 65-32 lead. Jackson State could never get closer than 23 after that.