TALLADEGA, Ala. – It was a successful season opener Thursday on its home court as the Talladega College men's basketball team captured a 78-65 victory over Columbia International University to start the Dannton Jackson era. The Tornadoes shot a blistering 61.5 percent (16-26) from the field in the opening 20 minutes to build a 12-point halftime lead, 39-27. Talladega also won the rebounding battle with a 45-28 advantage, which led to double the amount of second chance points (18-9). 
 
The starting five for the Tornadoes accounted for the majority of the scoring with the top five in points coming from that unit and a quartet eclipsing double figures. Leading the group was junior Keshawn Pegues (Davenport, Iowa) with 17 points. He was a top shooter at 50 percent (8-16) from the field and claimed a double-double with a team-high 13 boards. Pegues added two steals and blocks to complete his all-around stellar debut. 
 
Also getting into the double-digits scoring column were junior Jimmy Beane (Jacksonville, Fla.) with 13 points, sophomore Corey Sands (Nassau, Bahamas) with 12, and sophomore Javon Tatum (Stone Mountain, Ga.) with 10. 
 
Finishing off the starting five highlights was junior Ethelbert Anum (Carson, Calif.) with the magic eights on points and rebounds. 
 
Talladega garnered 13 of its 45 rebounds on the offensive glass, and a trio of starters had at least three led by Pegues' four. For the game, the Tornadoes finished shooting north of 50 percent in the triumph. 
 
The Hawkins Student Activity Center saw a great show, as the first of 13 home dates was performed on Thursday evening. One thing Head Coach Jackson  his takes pride in is his team's defense and gritty style, which helped on the rebounding results. Jackson's previous stop was an assistant at University of Albany, where the team ranked second in defense in the league. While spending four years at University of Alabama at Birmingham for four years, he guided the team to an NCAA 25^th ranked defense with a 4.9-clip. 
 
The Tornadoes were able to limit the Rams (0-1) to 6-of-23 (26.1%) from three-point territory and kept the team under 30 rebounds. Columbia International did shoot 41 percent overall from the floor and gained 12 rebounds but were unable to convert on second chances. 
 
The opening 10 minutes of the game were tight, with Talladega gripping a four-point edge (18-14) about midway through the stanza. The Tornadoes worked over the next seven minutes to stretch the margin to nine points and eventually reached double-digits for the first time with four minutes on a layup by Anum (31-20). The Rams did slash the deficit to nine (35-24) with 1:10 left in the first half, but a jumper by sophomore Wilfred Campbell (Atlanta, Ga.) as time expired made it a 39-27 edge for the Tornadoes. 
 
Out of intermission, the spread remained anywhere from 12 to 16 points as both sides competed to try and utilize a run either to get CIU back into the game or Talladega push the margin out of reach. The Tornadoes never trailed from the opening tip and gained their largest lead at 21 points with 12 minutes on a Pegues layup (59-38). 
 
The Rams tried to reduce the gap and the nearest they came was 11 points with just over a minute left.
 
Darrian Oates was the leading scorer for the guests with 17 points. Skyler McKinney and Christian Howard put in 12 points each while Dianthony Heathcock came the closest to a double-double for his squad with 11 points and eight boards. Jaylon Jeter rounded out the quintet of double-digit scorers with 11 coming from the bench. The Rams did take care of the ball with only eight turnovers compared to 14 by Talladega. The Rams also held advantages on points in the paint (38-30) and on the fastbreak (11-6). 
 
This lidlifter was part of a long stretch of successful home starts, as Talladega has now won its last 10 regular season openers. 
 
Talladega (1-0) will play its first road game on Wednesday, November 2 at Morehouse College in Atlanta. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. CDT. The Tornadoes are back in Talladega on Nov. 5 versus Birmingham-Southern College for a 2 p.m. tip.