Sophomore guard Mustapha Heron scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds as Auburn survived a scare from George Mason on Sunday at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala., to hold on for a 79-63 win.

The Tigers (6-1) jumped on the Patriots early, scoring the first 16 points of the game en route to a 22-2 run to open the contest.

Heron scored 11 of his points in the first half as Auburn took a 39-28 advantage into the break.

George Mason stormed back, erasing a 22-point deficit with the help of an 8-0 run to start the second half. Otis Livingston II gave the Patriots a 52-49 lead on a 3-pointer at the 13:50 mark.

Livingston finished with 13 points and seven assists. Jaire Grayer led George Mason (4-4) with 18 points. Javon Greene added 17 points.

George Mason's lead was short-lived. Auburn used a 14-2 run to reclaim an advantage it did not surrender.

Four different players scored double-digit points for the Tigers, including Bryce Brown (16 points), Jared Harper (12 points) and Davion Mitchell (10 points). Anfernee McLemore scored six points and dished out 10 assists to lead all players.

Auburn shot 41 percent (25 of 61) from the floor and 33 percent (10 of 30) from beyond the arc. George Mason hit 21 of 60 shots (35 percent), but connected on 46 percent (12 of 26) of its 3-point attempts.