Senior guard T.J. Dunans hit a 3-pointer as time expired to lift Auburn past visiting Mercer 76-74 Sunday at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala.

Dunans was called for goaltending seconds before his big shot, which allowed Mercer to take a one-point lead after Ria'n Holland converted a three-point play with 3.8 seconds left.

Trailing 74-73, Auburn had trouble getting the ball up the court on its ensuing possession and was forced to call timeout with 1.8 seconds left. The Tigers got the ball to Dunans in the corner. The senior turned, shot and knocked down the game-winner. Dunans finished with 13 points.

Freshman guard Mustapha Heron scored 21 points to lead Auburn, but missed two critical free throws in the final seconds to allow Mercer to stay in the game and eventually take the lead on Holland's three-point play.

Holland finished with 24 points for the Bears (5-6).

Auburn (8-2) was coming off a 117-point outburst in a win over Coastal Carolina, but came out cold against Mercer. The Tigers shot 33.3 percent from the floor in the first half.

Mercer led for almost the entire first half. Auburn went nearly five minutes without a field goal late in the first half, before TJ Lang and Jared Harper each hit 3-pointers to help the Tigers cut into the deficit before halftime.

Holland led Mercer with 10 points in the first half, and the Bears took a 32-30 lead into intermission.

Auburn has two tough nonconference tests remaining, before getting into SEC play. The Tigers host Oklahoma on Wednesday and travel to Connecticut on Friday. They'll open SEC play at home against Georgia on Dec. 29.

Mercer hosts La Salle on Thursday and travels to Kennesaw State on Dec. 28, before beginning Southern Conference play at Wofford on Dec. 31.