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| Heron (Auburn athletics) |
Auburn sophomore Mustapha Heron missed his last shot against Texas A&M on Wednesday night, a long three-point attempt as the buzzer sounded inside Auburn Arena.
A single foul shot with three seconds left gave the Aggies an 81-80 lead, and that’s what they wound up winning by after Heron’s miss.
Heron may have missed that shot, but he had another big game for Auburn. He wound up playing 36 of 40 minutes after Bryce Brown left due to an injury and missed the entire second half. All Heron did was score a game-high 28 points.
Heron is averaging 22 points per game over his last four contests, and head coach Bruce Pearl had nothing but praise for the left-hander after the A&M game.
“Mustapha Heron was great tonight,” Pearl said, according to postgame quotes on the team website. “He rose up and got on another level, which we know he has. That’s what separates him from everybody else. He attacks the basket, gets to the foul line, makes shots, and he played 36 minutes tonight.”
With Brown missing in the backcourt, Auburn needed others to step up. Heron certainly did his part to try to help the Tigers complete a big comeback. He knew he had to.
“It’s difficult, but it’s one of those things where you have to go out and play,” Heron said in the postgame quotes. “I think I’m aggressive either way, but definitely with what [Brown] does, I would definitely have to up my level of play.”
Heron did, and the two-time SEC Player of the Week may be called upon for that honor again real soon.
