Nov. 24, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. - Mustapha Heron scored a career-high 31 points and added a season-best 10 rebounds to lead Auburn to a 119-85 victory versus Winthrop Friday night. With 119 points, the Tigers (4-1) tied for the fourth-highest output in program history.
"Winthrop was a bit short-handed tonight," head coach Bruce Pearl said. "That's not the same Winthrop team that was in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. It was obviously good to see both Bryce Brown and Mustapha Heron relaxed offensively.
"I thought our 4-men played really well. I thought Desean [Murray] and Chuma [Okeke] played terrific on the frontline."
Auburn's offensive performance tied a best under Pearl, matching the 119 points scored against Northwestern State, Nov. 27, 2015. The mark is also the highest since the Tigers dropped 141 points in a win versus Troy, Dec. 11, 1991.
"We definitely ran [the offense] well," Heron said. "I think we were patient. We tried not to play the score too much and work on a few things. We had success."
Heron's team-best performances in both points and rebounds marked his fourth career double-double and eighth game of 20-plus points in his career.
Bryce Brown rattled home 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. The junior scorched the net six times from behind the arc - all in the second half.
Malik Dunbar posted a career-best 13 points, while Desean Murray added 12 points and eight rebounds. Chuma Okeke tallied his third game with 11 points and also added five boards.
As a team, Auburn hit a season-high 14 3-pointers and shot 61 percent (46-of-68) from the floor.
The Tigers raced out to a nine-point lead at 22-13 at the midway point of the first half, but the Eagles (2-3) chipped away and eventually took the lead at 29-26 just under seven minutes from halftime.
Auburn then used a 32-7 run, highlighted by 12 points from Heron, to roar into the locker room with a 58-36 advantage.
The Tigers kept the pedal to the ground in the second half and led by as much as 36 at 99-63 with six minutes to go.
Behind 20 points in the final six minutes, Auburn held on to win, 119-85.
Winthrop had five players in double figures, led by Jermaine Ukaegbu with 12 points and also contributed nine rebounds.
The Tigers return to the court Nov. 29 when they travel to Dayton for a non-conference test. Tip time is set for 6 p.m. CT next Wednesday night.