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| Mustapha Heron made plenty of good memories in Connecticut while playing for Sacred Heart. On Wednesday, Heron returned home for a game with Auburn against Oklahoma at Mohegan Sun Arena. |
For the first time since last year’s Class M state championship game with Sacred Heart, Mustapha Heron stepped onto the Mohegan Sun Arena court for a game.
Heron, a freshman, helped get Auburn a 74-70 win over Oklahoma in the nightcap of the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Birthday of Basketball doubleheader. It was a Topsy-turvy game for Heron and his Tiger teammates.
Between turnovers, physical play and some rough officiating — awful if you listened to the guys on the Auburn Sports Network radio — Auburn struggled to put Oklahoma away after leading by 17 in the second half. Let’s put it this way, Auburn radio personality and former coach Sonny Smith had the line of the night.
“It’s hard to explain a bank robbery,” Smith said as an official explained a call to head coach Bruce Pearl.
The Tigers were able to hang on and improved to 9-2.
Auburn’s next game is Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the XL Center against UConn.
Heron put together a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. He was 5-for-10 shooting from the floor, including 2-for-4 on 3-pointers, and he went 3-for-4 from the foul line. Heron struggled handling the ball with seven turnovers. His struggles handling the ball were indicative of what happened with the team, which had 22 turnovers.
Heron scored six points in a 1:23 span early in the second half to help Auburn build a 37-22 lead.
Next up for Heron is another homecoming game, this time at the XL Center against UConn. The game is being televised by ESPN2.
