Auburn was in search of its first SEC win, but found itself in a Tuesday
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| Heron (Auburn athletics) |
night battle of the Tigers at Missouri.
Auburn needed big shots to be made, and freshman Mustapha Heron made them to send Auburn to the 77-72 win.
Heron’s 3 off a Ronnie Johnson assist with 5:19 to broke a 57-57 tie.
With the game again tied, Bryce Brown drove and found a wide open Heron on the the right wing, and the former Sacred Heart star buried the open 3-pointer for a 69-66 lead with 2:16 to play in the game.
Heron pulled down a defensive rebound on the ensuing Missouri possession. Late in the shot clock, Heron had the ball in his hands in the left corner. The lefty made a nice fake, dribbled to his right and calmly sank a two-point jumper. The shot gave Auburn a 71-66 lead with 1:28 to go.
Heron did commit a foul, his fourth, that allowed Missouri to pull to within 73-70 in the final minute. How did the freshman do when faced with added pressure?
All Heron did was knock down two foul shots for a 75-70 Auburn lead with less than 20 seconds to go.
Ronnie Johnson’s free throws with under 10 seconds to play, followed by a Jared Harper steal, sealed the 77-72 victory.
Auburn doesn’t get to celebrate that win without Heron, who scored seven of his team’s last 11 points. After a slow start, Heron finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and two assists. He did in spite of an injured ankle that happened in practice the previous day.
Heron knew he had to step up after a very slow start (0-for-8 from the floor), and he did, scoring 12 of his 16 points in the second half.
Heron was an efficient 4-for-6 from the floor in the second half, and his grit and ability to bounce back was big for Auburn.
