Sandro Mamukelashvili missed so much of the fun.
When Seton Hall upset No. 7 Maryland without Myles Powell and captured its first seven Big East games — en route to 10 straight wins — the big lefty was stuck on the sideline, spending six weeks recovering from a fractured right wrist. Entering Wednesday, the Pirates held as many wins as losses since his Jan. 29 return.
In less than a second, Mamukelashvili made up for all that he missed. He made a moment to last a lifetime.
With his father overseas from Georgia to watch him play in person for the first time in two years, Mamukelashvili hit a thrilling and crucial buzzer-beating shot to give the No. 16 Pirates a 74-72 win over No. 21 Butler at Prudential Center.
With Seton Hall (19-7, 11-3 Big East) facing an early 10-point deficit, the specter of a season-worst third straight defeat, the loss of sole control of the league for the first time in six weeks and just 0.6 seconds on the clock, Quincy McKnight threw a pinpoint inbounds lob from underneath the basket to a leaping Mamukelashvili, whose off-balance shot in the paint rolled in off the front rim and triggered a chaotic celebration on the court and in the crowd.
Then the 6-foot-11 junior met his father, Zurab — a survivor of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, attending “Seton Hall vs. Cancer” night — at halfcourt, where the two embraced, together for the first time since May.
“It means a lot. It’s a big day for him,” Mamukelashvili said. “He came my freshman year, but I didn’t play that much. This was his first time really seeing me play a lot. It was an unbelievable experience.”
Following a crowd-silencing, game-tying 3-pointer by Butler’s Sean McDermott with 7.4 seconds remaining, McKnight missed a go-ahead opportunity. When the ball went out of bounds, Seton Hall kept possession, allowing Kevin Willard to call a play he saw the Sacramento Kings run two months back.
“The plan was to throw it up and let Sandro go get it and hope for a miracle,” Willard said.
Mamukelashvili had confidence, recently converting the play in practice. He had doubt, realizing the difference with the pressure on.
“I had past experiences where I couldn’t score game-winners, so I was a little nervous,” said Mamukelashvili, who finished with 15 points and six rebounds, while shooting 7 of 12 from the field. “[But] I was ready if [Willard] called my name.”
With Myles Powell running around a pair of screens to the strong side and acting as a decoy, Mamukelashvili rolled towards the hoop, fought through contact and caught the ball in midair, before sinking the season’s biggest shot.
“When you got the best player in the country, all the attention was on him,” Mamukelashvili said of Powell. “Quincy threw a great pass. It was right on point and I threw it up.”
Mamukelashvili’s momentum took him to the corner of the court. Teammates came charging. They collided and hugged and jumped. as thousands more screamed in euphoria.
It made up for all he missed.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Mamukelashvili said. “Everything just froze. I just saw them running. I just wanted to hug them. … I was thinking, ‘Damn, this really happened.’ ”