Bruce Pearl's new look Auburn Tigers opened their 2016 season in style Friday night.
Auburn cruised to a 96-68 exhibition win over Montevallo, with freshman Mustapha Heron and Daniel Purifoy leading the way.
Heron, the first five-star commit in Auburn history, scored 26 points, going 9-12 from the field. The Connecticut native grabbed six rebounds to go along with three steals and one assist.
“I just try to go out and be aggressive and just have fun,” Heron said. “My game is getting to the rim, so it makes it easier to be efficient.”
Heron was surprised at the game by his father, who was coaching in Memphis, Tennessee, and made the six-hour drive to see his son play.
“Mustapha does what he does,” head coach Bruce Pearl said. “He plays loud, but he’s quiet. He has a lot of noise to his game. He’s extremely coachable. The harder I get on him, the more he seems to respond”
Purifoy, who sat out last season due to eligibility issues, had 18 points for Auburn in his first career game. Purifoy pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds and went 10-11 from the free throw line.
“You can see he can score,” Pearl said. “He’s a really good teammate. It was 26 months ago when he committed to Auburn. It’s been a longtime coming. It was great for him tonight. Offensively, he will give people problems.
The Tigers shot 49.2 percent from the field, and went 14-32 (43.8 percent) from three-point range. Unlike a season ago, Auburn converted at the free throw line, shooting 84 percent from the line, going 22-26. However, the Tigers were a bit sloppy at times, and turned the ball over 18 times.
“We turned the ball over too much, when you play fast, sometimes you play sloppy,” Pearl said. “We are learning. We played 10 guys, and they’ve never played together until tonight.”
However, Pearl is optimistic about this season’s team.
“You can certainly see the pieces,” the third-year head coach said. “There are some really talented young men who have a chance to be really good players, and we have a chance to be a really good team.”
Sophomore guard Bryce Brown, who set the Auburn school record for three pointers by a freshman a year ago, did not skip a beat as the Georgia native knocked down four of his seven three point attempts.
Freshman Jared Harper earned the start for Pearl at point guard over graduate transfer Ronnie Johnson, and tallied 11 points in 21 minutes of play. Fellow freshman Anfernee McLemore had eight points and five rebounds in nine minutes off the bench.
Montevallo was led by senior forward Javonte Douglas, who scored 22 points to go along with eight rebounds.
Auburn will open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 11, as they host the North Florida Ospreys. Auburn's women's team will tip off at 6 p.m. vs. Troy and the men will follow at 8:30.
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