TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Bryan Hodgson came ready to face his former team.

Arkansas State's second-year coach, who was once a former assistant to Nate Oats, led a scrappy Red Wolves side that was willing to play with No. 2 Alabama’s big bodies in the lane and run with the Tide in transition. The physicality of the game led to a litany of foul calls, many of which were not appreciated by Oats and the Tide faithful.

As Arkansas State attempted to drag Alabama into the mud, the Crimson Tide had to dig deep against a feisty mid-major side and rely on some blue-collar energy and effort to avoid a shocking defeat and knock off Arkansas State 88-79.

"I think they exposed some stuff we gotta work on," Oats said after the game. "They gave us everything they had, it was a tied game with seven minutes to go in the game. I think our guys gotta realize the teams we put on the schedule, if we don't play well, we don't move the ball. We play selfish like I thought we did tonight at times, we're not gonna beat some of these teams."

Here are three takeaways from Alabama’s matchup against Arkansas State.

Alabama’s second game of the season had the same feel as its exhibition matchup against Memphis. Both teams couldn’t avoid the whistle and combined for X fouls in the scrappy.

Arkansas State put Alabama in the bonus before the under-16 media timeout of the first half. The Crimson Tide didn’t take long to catch up, however, and matched Arkansas State’s 14 fouls by the 4:46 mark of the first half.

The Crimson Tide defended Arkansas State hard and seemed to continue taking pride in guarding the Red Wolves one-on-one. However, it was hard for players to get in a flow defensively with a number of contested Red Wolves layups resulting in a whistle. Both Nate Oats and his former assistant and Arkansas State coach Bryan Hodgson had their fair share of words for the referees.

While both teams continued sending one another to the free throw line, neither was able to take much advantage at the charity stripe. Alabama shot just 63.6% from the line, while Arkansas State was only slightly better at 61.9%.

As the constant whistles started to sound more like a broken smoke alarm, each one against Alabama seemed to give Arkansas State more life in the second half. Both teams continued to struggle from the line while Alabama was marred by foul trouble in the second half. Clifford Omoruyi and Jarin Stevenson both racked up four fouls — all four of Stevenson's game in the first half. Alabama continued to battle in the paint but its continued fouls and struggles at the free throw line on the offensive end nearly resulted in a major upset.

When Arkansas wasn’t fouling, it put together several strong defensive possessions late in the first half. The Red Wolves held Alabama without a field goal for the final 4:30 which led to the Tide holding just a three-point advantage at the halftime interval.

Alabama’s struggles at the line weren’t helped by struggles shooting in the first half. The Tide shot 36% from the field and 25% from 3 in the first half. After leading by as much as 16 in the opening period, Alabama’s lackluster shooting and some poorly executed offensive sets helped Arkansas crawl back into the game.

"We've just got to make better decisions," Oats said. "You go back and look at some of our misses at the rim. We had guys wide open for three if the ball gets kicked out they knocked down the 3 all of a sudden we get going. We miss some on some more passes. We spray it. Guys are wide open on one more [pass] and we decide to shot-fake the guy and slide dribble for ourself. We've gotta move the ball better."

The Crimson Tide needed a few big energy plays in the second half as it continued to struggle to find its shot. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. hit a big 3 right before the under-16 media timeout. He gestured to the student section after the shot went in and it felt like a big one for the fifth-year guard who is trying to shake off the rust after missing much of the offseason with an injury.

Grant Nelson had a putback dunk with just under 14 minutes to play and continued to fight through contact on both ends to finish with 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal. Nelson played 26 minutes and had a plus-8 box plus-minus rating despite seemingly being slowly returned to action after missing time with an injury this offseason.

Alabama will struggle in any game where it shoots ​​40.9% from the field, 19.4% from 3 and only makes 28-of-44 free throws. Against a more talented team, it very likely loses.

But opponent aside, Alabama had to rely on the blue-collar side of its game to take down a gritty Arkansas State team that went blow for blow with one of the most talented rosters in the country. The Crimson Tide on the battle on the boards 50-41, including 14 offensive rebounds.

"We really won the game on the offensive boards," Oats said. "We had 21 second-chance points, they only had seven. I thought we made a big point of emphasis of keeping them off the offensive boards. I thought we did a decent job of that and we did a good job of getting our offensive glass."

Alabama has plenty of elite and experienced players it can turn to in clutch situations. But it was freshman Derrion Reid who delivered a few huge buckets down the stretch to help Alabama hang on on its home court.

Reid hit a rare Tide 3 with just under 10 minutes to play that drew a big reaction from the Coleman crowd. Reid later added to a 7-0 Tide run which put Alabama up 79-70 with a beautiful spin move off a power dribble and a layup.

The former five-star recruit started his second straight game this season and played a productive and relatively mistake-free game against a tenacious Arkansas State defense. Reid finished with 10 points, three rebounds, one assist and a block in 20 minutes on the floor.

"Biggest point of emphasis for us with him in there was just the defensive side of it," Oats said of Reid. "Give us some length. A kid that works hard. He's smart on the defensive end. I thought he helped us get some stops."

Reid has been praised for his effort and production this offseason, while he and fellow freshman Labaron Philon have both earned the opportunity to start in Alabama's last two games. Philon also joined his teammate in double figures and had another productive outing with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal.

The scrappiness of Friday night's game didn't seem to faze either of Alabama's elite true freshmen. Reid made pro-level plays and continues to execute Alabama's offense well, serving as a strong playmaker and active player in the paint. He also made one of his two 3-point attempts, an area where Oats has wanted to see a jump in Reid's freshman season.

Alabama survived a scare from a former Oats assistant and will have a lot to learn from after a game where Tide players failed to be their hot-shooting selves to pull away from a weaker opponent. Alabama made enough effort plays to seal a win, but will have to regroup and find its shot as a collective as another strong mid-major in McNeese comes to Tuscaloosa next.

Alabama will face McNeese at 6 p.m. Monday inside Coleman Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.