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| Heron (Auburn athletics) |
The Auburn men’s basketball team is scheduled to return from its trip to Italy today.
The excursion was a productive one for the Tigers, who won all four of their exhibition games. It was also good for sophomore Mustapha Heron, the former Sacred Heart superstar.
“We are just trying to build and get better every day,” Heron said in an article posted on the team website after Auburn’s 87-29 shellacking of Stella Azzurra on Aug. 9. “This is a great bonding trip, and we are trying to get close.
Heron scored 13 points in that first game, and he was just one of five Tigers to reach double figures.
“It was fun. I’m looking forward to an exciting season,” Heron said. “We have a lot of different weapons.”
Heron had nine points and nine rebounds in a 103-87 win over BC Silute of Lithuania on Aug. 11. This past Sunday, Auburn smacked Veneto Select 109-54.
The final game of the tour came on Monday against the Italy All-Stars, and the Tigers ran away with a 104-58 victory in that game to finish 4-0. Heron tied for the team-high in points with 21 and added five rebounds. He scored the last 10 Auburn points to end the third quarter as the Tigers ran away with the game.
While in Italy, Auburn took in many famous sites, including the Colosseum in Rome, Vatican City, and the canals of Venice.
It wasn’t the first time Heron has been to Italy, according to an Aug. 4 article by Auburn’s Jeff Shearer. Heron was part of a U18 U.S. Select Team that went 3-0 in Treviso, Italy. He was a junior at Sacred Heart at the time.
Heron averaged 14.3 points on his second Italy trip.
