AUBURN | Auburn improved to 5-1 but that’s about the extent of Bruce Pearl’s satisfaction when it comes to Tuesday night’s 90-83 win over USC Upstate.

The Tigers didn’t shoot well and had several defensive lapses that kept the Spartans in the game in the final minutes. Auburn blew leads of 18 points in both the first and the second half.

“I’m happy with being 5-1 but I’m not happy with the quality of our play,” said Bruce Pearl, Auburn’s third-year coach. “We’re not playing as well together as we need to. I thought that Upstate played with better effort and energy than we did. I thought they flew around.

“I just don’t think we had the effort and the energy and the tenacity to finish plays and that’s why they came back.”

Auburn made just 7-of-32 (21.9 percent) from 3-point range and 13-of-22 (59.1 percent) from the free throw line. USC Upstate shot better from beyond the arc (10-of-33 for 30.3 percent) and from the line (9-of-14 for 64.3 percent.

Auburn’s pressing defense forced 15 turnovers but that wasn’t enough for Pearl.

“I’m disappointed we’re not able to make more plays with our pressure,” he said. “We created a lot of 50-50 plays and they gobbled most of them up. The reason you press is to create turnovers and we need to do a better job in that area.”

Freshman Mustapha Heron led Auburn with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. He added a team-high six rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot.

“Heron continues to play very solidly. Very, very effective offensively,” Pearl said. “He can have a greater impact on the defensive end.”

LaRon Smith had 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting with five rebounds and one blocked shot before fouling out in the final minute. Jared Harper and Ronnie Johnson had 10 points apiece and Danjel Purifoy added six points, four rebounds, nine assists and one steal.

Michael Buchanan dominated in the paint for the Spartans with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Mike Cunningham had 20 points and five assists while Malik Moore added 12 rebounds.

USC Upstate out-rebounded Auburn 52-41.

Auburn returns to action Saturday at UAB. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT on beIN Sports.

“If you’re a little disappointed in how we’re playing right now, you should be. And if you’re wondering how good this team really is going to be, you should wonder. We’ve given you enough reason to,” Pearl said.