AUBURN, Ala. (AP) The play didn't come off precisely as Auburn drew it up, but T.J. Dunans made it turn out perfectly, anyway.

Dunans hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer off an inbounds pass to lift Auburn to a 76-74 victory over Mercer on Sunday.

''I knew it was going in,'' he said. ''The way I shot, I knew it was going in.''

Dunans grabbed the pass from Mustapha Heron with 1.4 seconds left, turned and fired up the winning shot from the left corner for the Tigers (8-2), who have won two straight minus a pair of suspended starters. The play was designed by assistant coach Chuck Person to get the ball to Jared Harper off a screen but Danjel Purifoy jumped the gun.

''Jared curled and wasn't open, so really Mustapha had no one to throw the ball to,'' Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. ''So he threw it to the tallest, next-available player and that was Dunans in the corner.

''Obviously he made a memorable shot.''

Ria'n Holland had scored five points in the final 11 seconds to give Mercer (5-6) a 74-73 lead. Auburn fumbled away its first chance to grab the win but cashed in on the last-gasp attempt.

Heron couldn't control the inbounds pass near midcourt for the Tigers, who were forced to call timeout with 1.4 seconds to play. On the next inbounds attempt, Heron then found Dunans, who managed to get off the game-winner.

Holland scored 24 points for the Bears. He hit a runner in the lane and then followed an Auburn free throw with a layup with 3.8 seconds left, drawing a foul and making the free throw for the Bears.

Heron scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half for Auburn. Dunans scored 13 points and made three 3-pointers while TJ Lang had 11. Freshman Austin Wiley made the go-ahead basket with 45 seconds left in his Auburn debut.

The five-star prospect, who signed in November, had nine points on 5-of-8 free throws. Auburn announced Friday that Wiley was cleared by the NCAA to join the team, and the 6-foot-11, 255-pounder debuted after two days of practice with the team.

''He's a terrific young man who's extremely dedicated that worked really hard to get here,'' Pearl said.

Added Wiley: ''At first I was nervous but as the game started flowing, I started picking it up and got comfortable out there as the game was going.''

Auburn made 9 of 25 3-pointers three days after tying the SEC record with 21.

Jordan Strawberry added 13 points for Mercer and Demetre Rivers scored 10.

''We're not into moral victories,'' Mercer coach Bob Hoffman said. ''We wanted the `W' today and we didn't get it, but I saw some things that we can carry (over) to get better.''

BIG PICTURE

Mercer: Has lost five of its last six games. Outrebounded Auburn 41-26.

Auburn: Took the series lead, at 17-16, and has won eight of the last 10 meetings. Made 27 of 35 free throws.

WILEY'S DEBUT

Wiley was the centerpiece of Auburn's Top 10 recruiting class. The son of former Tigers' stars Aubrey Wiley and Vickie Orr came into the game with 12:55 left in the first half and was fouled going up for a shot three seconds later. He was 2 of 5 shooting with three rebounds and two blocked shots. Aubrey Wiley had 16 points in his Auburn debut while the Olympian Orr opened with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

SUSPENSIONS

Auburn starters Horace Spencer and Bryce Brown sat out their second straight game since being suspended following an arrest on misdemeanor marijuana possession charges.

UP NEXT

Mercer hosts La Salle Thursday night.

Auburn faces Oklahoma in the Hall of Fame's Birthday of Basketball event Wednesday night in Uncasville, Conn.

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