It wasn’t the most confident win for No. 24 Alabama over a feisty Indiana State squad.

A game of runs helped the Sycamores stay within touching distance for most of the contest, but Alabama stayed disciplined with the lead and leaned on a stellar performance by its two best newcomers to pull away and beat Indiana State 102-80 on Friday. With the win, the Crimson Tide has achieved back-to-back 100-point victories for the first time since the 1964-65 campaign.

Here are three takeaways from the Crimson Tide’s second win of the season:

While it was forward Grant Nelson dominating the headlines in Alabama’s season opener, the Crimson Tide's other marquee transfer took over in game two.

Alabama’s No. 55 Aaron Estrada came out firing against the Sycamores and finished with 27 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and passed the 1,500-point mark for his career.

"We know what Aaron can do," Alabama coach Nate Oats said. We've seen it and I think he's improved even since last year... But, he ends the game with 24. Aaron came out great. I thought we really needed him."

Estrada’s go-to move all game was his step-back jumper. He shot 6-for-8 from 3-point range and once again flashed his ability to finish through contact at the rim with his left hand.

His ability to ignite runs and get a bucket when Alabama needed it, especially early in the contest was huge. Estrada helped Alabama overcome an early 9-0 deficit and finished with 22 points in the opening period.

After a colligate career where he spent time on both coasts and is now at his fourth school, Estrada seems to have already found comfort in Oats’ system.

Estrada’s partner at guard Mark Sears started slow but was able to take some of the scoring burden off of Estrada in the second half. Sears finished with 24 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

"If you want to put your best defender on Aaron after he gets cooking like he did, you're gonna put your second best defender on Sears, that's going to be a problem too," Oats said.

Both Alabama and Indiana State came out playing their usual fast-paced tempos, which was expected given Oats and Sycamores coach Josh Schertz's styles.

Both teams were able to generate shots quickly and make them at a high rate. Alabama shot 52% from the field, while the Sycamores shot 51%.

It was Alabama, however, that was able to force Indiana State into coughing up the basketball 13 times. 11 of those turnovers came in the first half, which helped the Crimson Tide pull away.

Alabama stayed disciplined as Indiana State made runs to stay within touching distance for most of the game, but the Sycamores slowed themselves down with foul trouble. Four of Indiana State’s starters picked up their fourth foul before the 10-minute mark of the second half.

A combination of foul trouble and Alabama's defense also helped slow Indiana State’s Isaiah Swope. Swope had 15 points in the first half but had just two points in the final period.

When the Crimson Tide fouled Indiana State, the Sycamores struggled to take advantage. Indiana State shot just 64% from the charity stripe.

While Alabama forced turnovers early and was able to set the tone in the second period, Indiana State still found success at times, despite being without star center Robbie Avila. The Sycamores still managed to give Alabama problems at the rim and was able to kick it out from inside the paint to open shooters behind the 3-point line.

The underlying numbers still reflect that Alabama as work to do defensively, especially against teams that play fast-paced offense. The Crimson Tide gave up 1.12 points per possession Friday, a number that will certainly need to decrease against better opposition.

While it wouldn't seem like it if you look at the box score, Alabama lost Nelson for a portion of the first half after he suffered an abrasion above his right eye.

It did not seem to affect Nelson once he returned to the game and, if this is possible, may have helped him see the floor better. Nelson dominated the Sycamores with 18 points and four rebounds in the second half.

"It's great to have Grant," Oats said. "When we kind of went through a little drought in the second half, it's nice to be able to have a guy that can go get you a bucket at the rim, get fouled, go free throw line, (shoot) 100% from the free throw line, (he) went 6-of-6. So we do have some different weapons."

Alabama’s other recent victim to an eye abrasion, guard Kris Parker, missed his second straight game despite practicing this week. Oats did not give an update on Parker after the game.

The Crimson Tide next face South Alabama at 7 p.m. Tuesday inside Coleman Coliseum.