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Seton Hall's Jordan Theodore had 16 points and made some clutch late free throws in overtime of an 80-77 win over Mercer at the Prudential Center.

The Pirates (9-1, 0-0 Big East) picked up their sixth straight win, the longest winning streak in head coach Kevin Willard’s two years with the program.

Mercer (7-4, 1-1 Atlantic Sun) opens a grueling five-game road trip with a loss. The Bears play five games away from home before the New Year.

Herb Pope led the Pirates with 24 points and 17 rebounds.

Bears forward Justin Cecil buried a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining to tie the game at 68-68 and force overtime. The Bears would not go down easy in the extra frame, knocking down two more from outside and trailed by only two points with 14 seconds remaining. They missed a chance to tie in overtime at the buzzer.

The Bears’ long frontcourt challenged a tough Seton Hall interior, scoring 26 points in the paint. Mercer shot 60.7 percent in the second half, led by Cecil, who scored 10 of his 18 points in the final 20 minutes.

Seton Hall was hot from outside, hitting 8 of 16 from beyond the arc – three of those 3-pointers from Aaron Cosby. However, soft defense and poor foul shooting hampered the Pirates. They shot just 66.7 percent from the charity stripe, including going 11 for 20 in the second half.

Mercer struggled with turnovers, coughing the ball up 20 times – nine of those coming in the first 10 minutes of the game.

Langston Hall scored 17 for the Bears and was one of five starters to score in double figures.