TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Mark Sears scored 19 points and No. 2 Alabama survived an upset scare on Friday, beating Arkansas State 88-79. The game was tied with seven minutes left before Alabama scored 11 of the next 13 points, three of them from Sears at the free throw line.

The Crimson Tide shot 44 free throws, but hit just 29. The 3-point shooting was off, too, as Alabama hit 6 of 31 from long range. Alabama was fortunate the Red Wolves were equally unimpressive in those categories, going 23 of 36 from the line and 6 of 28 from 3-point range.

Mark Sears led Alabama (2-0) with 19 points. Sears went 0-for-5 from 3-point range and was 4-of-12 from the field. As a team, Alabama shot just 40.9 percent vs. the 63 percent it hit from in the season opener against UNC Asheville on Monday. They were 6-of-31 from behind the arc.

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On Friday night, No. 2 Alabama basketball slogged through a tough 88-79 victory over Arkansas State, led by former Alabama assistant coach Bryan Hodgson. Arkansas State didn’t make it easy, slowing the game down and forcing Alabama to dig deep to avoid a potential upset.