Mercer Men’s Basketball Downs Seton Hall in Double OT, 77-74

MACON, Ga. (MERCER RELEASE) – Mercer head men’s basketball coach Bob Hoffman added another signature win to his resume on Saturday, guiding the Bears through two overtimes of thrilling action in a 77-74 win over Seton Hall at Hawkins Arena.

Mercer’s second-straight win pushed the Bears to 2-1 on the year while Seton Hall fell to 2-1 overall.

Senior guard Langston Hall was honored for scoring his 1,000th point in a pregame ceremony and promptly went out and scored a team-high 24 points despite being sidelined with early foul trouble. Hall also finished with five assists, two rebounds and a steal while going 11-of-12 from the free throw line.

Senior guard Bud Thomas (17 points), senior center Daniel Coursey (10 points) and sophomore guard Ike Nwamu (10 points) also reached double-figure scoring totals.

Hall was saddled with three fouls in the first eight minutes of game time and was forced to watch as the Pirates mounted a 25-13 lead with 7:55 to play before halftime. With Hall on the bench, valuable reserves Nwamu and Phillip Leonard combined for a quick 5-0 spurt that helped spark a 14-3 Mercer charge and cut the deficit to one (29-28) at halftime.

In the second half, Mercer got its first lead in over 18 minutes as Thomas nailed a three at the 18:12 juncture, setting the stage for a wild finish. From then on, the teams traded the lead four more times in the period before settling on a 56-56 tie after regulation.

In the first overtime, Mercer went ahead 60-56, but Seton Hall used two key three pointers to hang within striking distance. In the final moments, Mercer held a 65-63 lead before Fuquan Edwin hit a driving layup to even matters at 65-65 with 11 seconds left.

In the second overtime, another Edwin driving layup gave the Pirates a 71-69 lead, but senior forward Jakob Gollon canned a three with 1:07 to play that put Mercer back in front. The Bears wouldn’t surrender the edge from then on, as Hall swished four-straight free throws in the final minute to help Mercer seal the victory.

Mercer has now topped seven high-major teams since Hoffman took over the program in 2008. The Bears have beaten Alabama (twice), Auburn, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Tennessee and Seton Hall under Hoffman’s watch.

Thomas was five-of-nine from three point range and added five rebounds, two steals and two assists. Nwamu added six rebounds, a block and a steal to go along with his 10 points. Coursey paired his 10 points with six boards, three assists and a pair of blocks.

Mercer returns to action at Evansville on Monday. Game time is scheduled for 8:05 p.m.