Lior Berman won’t be forgetting this birthday anytime soon.

The Auburn walk-on and Birmingham native had his One Shining Moment in the opening-round of the NCAA Tournament, and in his hometown no less. Not only did Berman celebrate his 22nd birthday with an 83-75 win against Iowa on Thursday night, but he added a highlight-worthy reverse layup off a backdoor cut down the baseline in the first half at Legacy Arena.

“I never would have thought I would have done that, especially playing March Madness in Birmingham,” Berman said. “It was just awesome.”

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In what was essentially a home game for ninth-seeded Auburn to open the NCAA Tournament, Berman was a clear fan favorite during the Tigers’ first-round win. The 6-foot-4 senior made himself right at home in a building he knows intimately; as a high school player at Mountain Brook under current Samford coach Bucky McMillan, Berman helped his school win back-to-back-to-back state championships at Legacy Arena during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.

Berman’s Mountain Brook teams won six straight games in that arena. With Auburn on Thursday, Berman — with plenty of help from his teammates, as the Tigers had six score in double figures — extended his personal winning streak in the building to seven games.

He logged 15 minutes off the bench and finished with two points, a steal and a rebound, but he made his lone basket of the night count. With just under 12 minutes to go in the first half, and with Auburn and Iowa knotted at 10 points apiece, Berman set up in the corner and then cut down the baseline while Dylan Cardwell posted up in the paint.

Cardwell spotted Berman and dished off a nifty pass as the walk-on finished the play with a contested reverse layup off the glass to give Auburn a 12-10 lead.

“It was insane,” Cardwell said. “I didn’t think he was going to do a whole reverse; I thought he was going to dunk it or something, but hopefully it makes SportsCenter, because that was probably my best pass of the season. I always tell people I’m the Black (Nikola) Jokic, you know what I’m saying? But I was just very grateful to see Lior finish.”

Berman said he considered trying to dunk, but the length of Iowa’s lineup made him change his plans as he gathered his feet on the baseline. His circus shot drew the loudest pop from a noticeably pro-Auburn crowd to that point in the night. The fans at Legacy Arena weren’t the only ones who were wowed by Berman’s soaring finish — even if it didn’t set off quite the reaction that his late-game dunk warranted during Auburn’s senior night win against Tennessee.

His teammates were impressed, too.

“The Bermanator,” forward Chris Moore said. “That’s all I got to say about Lior. He’s the Bermanator, man.”

Wendell Green Jr., who finished with 15 points in the win, nodded in approval when asked about Berman’s reverse, simply describing it as “nice.” Senior guard Zep Jasper wasn’t quite as reserved with his reaction.

“Ooooh, that was nasty,” Jasper said. “That was nasty. I looked at him, and I said, ‘Oh my God, Lior. How did you get that layup in there?’ He told me, ‘Man, I work on that.’ I be seeing him doing all types of crazy layups when he plays.”

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After bringing the crowd to its feet with his contorting finish at the rim, Berman tried to bring the house down on Auburn’s next possession. The Tigers got a stop on the other end of the floor, and it led to Berman getting an open look on a spot-up 3-pointer.

The shot caromed off the rim, which was probably fortunate for Legacy Arena, as its recent $125 million renovations might have been wiped out from the explosive crowd reaction had the shot fallen.

“It would’ve blown up,” Cardwell said. “He’s from Birmingham. I’m going to call it Berman-ham from here on out. This is his city.”

Berman went 0-of-4 from beyond the arc against Iowa, including a miss that hit off the side of the backboard in the second half. Still, his reverse layup in the first half provided him with a moment that will be seared into his memory bank.

He’s just hoping it won’t be his last shining moment of this NCAA Tournament.

“They love Lior,” Green said. “He just keeps shooting. You know it’s going to fall. We got another game, so he can’t beat himself up too much. He’s going to keep shooting, and we’re going to keep finding him.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.