AUBURN, Ala. -- Mustapha Heron had his first career double-double -- 24 points and 10 rebounds -- Danjel Purifoy scored 16 points, and Auburn beat Eastern Kentucky 85-64 Thursday night in a Cancun Challenge game.Heron shouldered the load, but Auburn needed a team effort to keep its season-opening win streak alive.The Tigers led 10-2 but went cold while Eastern Kentucky (1-2) rallied and stayed ahead until two and a half minutes left in the first half. Purifoy hit a 3-pointer amid a 9-2 run and Auburn led 37-34 at halftime.The Colonels (1-2) closed to within 38-39 early in the second half on Jaylen Babb-Harrisons layup. Auburn pulled away on a 15-2 run and led 65-50 after a free throw by Heron and Eastern Kentucky got no closer.Auburns 34.5 shooting percentage in the first period became a scorching 56.7 percent in the second half as the Tigers broke the game open.Theyre a good team, and you cant give a team like that second- and third-chance opportunities, and thats what we did, Eastern Kentucky coach Dan McHale said. We allowed them to impose their will, and they made us pay.The Tigers (3-0) were by propelled by Heron, a freshman, who connected on all eight of his field goal attempts, but only made seven of his 13 free throws.Auburn outrebounded the Colonels 51-30, but made 25 of 41 free throws (61 percent), which helped Eastern Kentucky stay close for most of the game.I thought that we were obviously, our physicality -- the difference between the OVC and the SEC showed up on the boards, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. And obviously we took advantage of some things. I dont think that our offensive execution is not what it needs to be. Were going to spend some time doing a better job with that.Nick Mayo led the Colonels with 22 points and five rebounds, and Dillon Avare added 14 points.THE TAKEAWAYAuburn: The Tigers finish their opening homestand 3-0 and head to Cancun, Mexico, on a roll.Eastern Kentucky: The Colonels drop the first of two games against Power 5 opponents and fall below .500 on the season.HE SAID ITInteresting. Weve struggled from the free throw line and we were shooting great in the preseason and we actually shot more free throws this week than we have in a while. I think Im not going to shoot any more free throws and just let them do it on their own because that could have been an issue in the outcome. -- Auburn coach Bruce PearlMAJOR MILESTONEAuburn guard Ronnie Johnson finished with 13 points, but it was a seemingly meaningless layup midway through the second half that mattered the most. With those two points, Johnson eclipsed 1,000 total points for his career. Johnson, a graduate transfer, scored 697 points in his first two years at Purdue and had 291 at Houston last year.STARTING HOTWith the win, Auburn moves to 3-0 for the first time since 2011-12. Its the second time in 12 years thats happened on The Plains.UP NEXTAuburn travels to Cancun to play Texas Tech on Tuesday for the Tigers first away game, and theyll look to keep Bruce Pearls best start at Auburn going.Eastern Kentucky also plays the Red Raiders in Cancun, but the Colonels take on Texas Tech on Saturday. Pittsburgh Pirates Gear . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Billy Southworth Jersey . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/ . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Bobby Bonilla Jersey . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. Gerrit Cole Jersey . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. In addition to conference media days, watch list season is yet another indication that college football is right around the corner. On Thursday, the watch list for the Davey OBrien Award, which honors the nations top quarterback, was released. The Big 12 placed five quarterbacks on the list.Baylor senior Seth Russell and Texas Tech junior Patrick Mahomes?are returning OBrien semifinalists. Russell led the Big 12 with a?189.7 passer efficiency rating last season, while Mahomes led the conference with?4,653 passing yards. Oklahoma senior Baker Mayfield, who tied Mahomes for the conference lead with 36 touchdown passes last season, is a returning nominee for the award. Mayfield, perhaps the most decorated of all Big 12 nominees, led the Sooners to 11 wins, the Big 12 championship and a College Football Playoff appearance last season.ddddddddddddRounding out the Big 12 candidates are a pair of first-time nominees: Oklahoma State junior Mason Rudolph (3,770 passing yards in 2015) and West Virginia junior Skyler Howard (3,145 passing yards). A Big 12 quarterback has not won the Davey OBrien Award since Baylors Robert Griffin III in 2011. Griffin III also won the Heisman Trophy that year.Sixteen semifinalists for the Davey OBrien Award will be named on Thursday, Nov. 10. From that list, three finalists will be selected on Tuesday, Nov. 22. The winner will be announced at the Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 8 on ESPN. ' ' '