The building felt like it was ready to shake off its foundation.

Myles Powell, who in five days went from a “prolonged absence” to nearly putting 40 points on Michigan State, was preparing to complete a four-point play. The large and loud Prudential Center crowd of 14,051 was on its feet. The lead was now five, the game seemingly in Seton Hall’s hands.

From that point on, however, the No. 3 Spartans reminded everyone why they are perennial national championship contenders. They quickly erased the deficit, perfectly executed out of a timeout for the game-winning layup in the final half-minute and blocked two Seton Hall attempts to go back ahead, pulling out a gutty 76-73 victory in Newark.

“That was a March game in November,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said of the contest, which included 14 lead changes and nine ties.

Against the highest-ranked home non-conference opponent in 19 years, since Michigan State (then also No. 2) visited New Jersey in 2000, No. 12 Seton Hall seemed primed to pull the upset. Powell, the Pirates’ dynamic senior shooting guard, did all he could on a bum left ankle, scoring a game-high 37 points. But a few loose offensive possessions and rushed shots opened up the door just a crack for the Spartans to rush through it, closing on a 10-2 run.

“We’re up five with 2:41 to go, and with that group on the floor, we should have done much better with time management,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “That’s where we lost the game.”

Seton Hall (2-1) seemed to be in great shape after Powell drained his sixth 3-pointer of the evening and was fouled with 2:41 left for a five-point lead. But he missed the free throw and Seton Hall went cold — missing its final six shots from the field — and allowed the Spartans to answer with consecutive 3-pointers from Cassius Winston (21 points) and Rocket Watts to retake the lead.

Powell answered with two free throws to give the lead back to Seton Hall with 44.8 seconds left, before Michigan State’s Malik Hall (17 points) scored inside, leaving just 22.5 seconds left on the clock.

Sandro Mamukelashvili and Powell each had chances to give Seton Hall the lead, but both were blocked on drives, though there was contact on the two attempts.

“I thought Myles definitely got fouled going to the basket, and he did everything you’re supposed to do,” Willard said.

It seemed unlikely Powell would play after he sprained his left ankle in a win over Stony Brook on Saturday. Willard said at the time there could be a “prolonged absence.” But Powell healed more quickly than expected, shooting on Tuesday and Wednesday, and taking part in a walkthrough Wednesday. He looked fine in pregame warmups and received a standing ovation from the student section after sinking a 3-pointer before jogging into the locker room a few minutes before the opening tip.

“You dream about games like this,” said Powell, who acknowledged his ankle was sore after playing 34 minutes, but adding he expects to be fine for Sunday’s game at Saint Louis.

Powell scored 13 points in the opening half and was even better in the second stanza, showing why he was named the Big East preseason Player of the Year and the first-ever Seton Hall preseason All-American. It just wasn’t quite enough to take down the Spartans.

“Their kid Myles is one of the great players I’ve ever seen in college basketball,” Izzo said. “He seems to play hard, he seems to have fun, he seemed like a great kid, didn’t talk a lot of crap and just did it the right way.

“I don’t know if God could have stopped him on some of those shots.”