Heron sharp in AU debut

AUBURN | Mustapha Heron may be a freshman, but he's already in position to help the Tigers this season.

He carried the team during its exhibition opener Friday night.

The guard from Waterbury, Conn., finished with 26 points and six rebounds in his college debut against University of Montevallo. Heron's excellence both along the perimeter and in transition gave Auburn a consistent advantage the Falcons simply couldn't mitigate.

Auburn won, 96-68.

Heron helped in a variety of ways Friday night -- going 6-of-7 from two-point range, 3-of-5 from three-point range and finished 5-of-6 at the line. He was particularly good in transition, however, skillfully finding open space that yielded open looks at the basket.

His cunning play was unexpected considering his inexperience, though Heron was a five-star prospect out of high school.

Though Heron was excellent, he wasn't the Tigers' only standout Friday. Forward Danjel Purifoy also made his college debut and added 18 points largely on the strength of a 10-of-11 performance at the line. Sophomore guard Bryce Brown overcame a slow start to finish with 14 points largely on the strength of a 4-of-7 performance from long range.

Auburn opened the game on a 10-0 run, then watched Montevallo cut that lead down to five points a few minutes later. The culprit? Too much attention to getting teammates involved, which yielded superfluous passes that left good shots untaken.

Pearl soon coaxed his team into playing a little more selfishly, however, and the Tigers entered the halftime locker room with a 53-36 lead. The second half was more of the same.

Auburn opens its regular season next Friday at home against North Florida. That game tips at 8:30 p.m.