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. Germaine Pratt Womens Jersey . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Drew Sample Bengals Jersey . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. http://www.bengalsrookiestore.com/Bengals-Anthony-Munoz-Jersey/ . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. The 1.83-meter (6-foot) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger. Drew Sample Jersey . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line. A.J. Green Bengals Jersey .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. WASHINGTON -- New York Mets pitcher Steven Matz has a bone spur in his left elbow and will have his next start pushed back from Wednesday to Thursday.Mets general manager Sandy Alderson says the 25-year-old lefty will continue pitching through the bone spur because doctors have assured the team he cannot do damage to it. The decision to push him back to face the Cubs was made to give him a day of extra rest and medication.Hes going to have to deal with it because its not going away, Mets manager Terry Collins said Tuesday.If Matz were to undergo surgery to remove the spur, it would keep him out three months and effectively end his season. Thats all the more motivation for Matz to power through the discomfort.Its something that, as long as they feel comfortable with me being out there with the way Im pitching, then I think Im going to battle through it, Matz said. Thats the mindset: Get it all behind me and just go out there and pitch.Matz is 7-3 with a 3.29 ERA this season and has been dealing with some discomfort for a few starts. The Mets will continue to monitor his status on a start-by-start basis.Theres a lot of signs to look at, Collins said. Youve got to take a look at location, is his velocity still up, is he using his secondary pitches. If his elbow starts to bother him, he backs off those secondary (pitches) because of the wear and tear that it takes to throw them. ... Certainly weve got to stay on top of it.Logan Verrett will start in the sseries finale against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.dddddddddddd Collins said the rest of the rotation will stay on schedule with an extra day of rest.Matz will have to have the spur removed at some point, Alderson said. Thats not the case for right-hander Noah Syndergaard, who also dealing with one in his pitching elbow, but Alderson said its less significant than Matzs.Alderson and Collins said Syndergaard struggling in a loss to the Nationals on Monday had nothing to do with the elbow and dont expect it to be an ongoing question.Theres really no change in status on Noah, Alderson said. Its a very small spur that may exist with 90 percent of the pitchers that are throwing in Major League Baseball today.Alderson said that first baseman Lucas Duda is about two weeks away from resuming baseball activities. Hes out long term with a stress fracture in his lower back.Zack Wheeler threw Monday in Port St. Lucie, Florida, Alderson said, and theres no time frame on when the right-hander will be ready to return. Without Wheeler and with Matz and Syndergaard not 100 percent, the Mets will tax their bullpen more but are confident in their rotation.We have a less-than-perfect situation right now with the people that we have, Alderson said. Its certainly not ideal. But every team deals with this. Were still in pretty good shape. ' ' '