The game should have been right there in Sandro Mamukelashvili’s capable hands.

A full-court pass was delivered perfectly by Takal Molson. Patrick Mahomes couldn’t have placed it any better.

But the ball evaded Mamukelashvili’s grasp and harmlessly bounced out of bounds. With it, went Seton Hall’s chance at a huge upset on the road. Instead, the game was decided by a questionable-at-best, loose-ball foul call that gave third-ranked Villanova the lead with 1.9 seconds left in a memorable 76-74 victory at Finneran Pavilion in Philadelphia.

“Disappointment, anger. I was right there and it didn’t work out, but it happens,” Mamukelashvili said over Zoom. “I can’t really explain it because I’m feeling a lot of emotions right now.”

After Jeremiah Robinson-Earl hit one free throw with 1.1 seconds left, Mamukelashvili had one last chance, but his off-balance prayer failed to draw iron, ending the latest chapter in what has become the premier rivalry in the Big East.

Seton Hall (9-6, 6-3) rallied from nine down in the final seven minutes and had a chance to go ahead in the final seconds. But Shavar Reynolds’ 3-point try was long and Molson was called for a foul on a scramble for the rebound in the lane. Cole Swider hit one of two free throws with 1.9 seconds left for Villanova (9-1, 4-0), before the wild final sequence.

Molson heaved a long pass for Mamukelashvili, who was being double-teamed. The ball went over both Villanova players guarding him, but the senior, right in front of the rim, couldn’t squeeze it. He stood frozen in the paint after the turnover, in stunned disbelief.

“Coach drew up an amazing play and it just slipped out of my hands,” said Mamukelashvili, who declined to criticize the deciding foul call when asked. “It just sucks losing,”

Despite the last-second anguish, Mamukelashvili was brilliant, with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting, nine rebounds and five assists. Jared Rhoden added 19 points, 15 in the first half. Myles Cale and Reynolds each had 11 points.

Collin Gillespie scored 22 points for Villanova, which was playing its first game in 27 days due to repeated COVID-19 pauses, but hardly showed any rust. The Wildcats shot 47 percent from the field and committed just nine turnovers.

“It’s what makes Jay Wright probably the best college basketball coach by far: You know exactly what he’s going to run, but you can’t stop him. He’s got great players,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said.

Villanova pushed its lead to six midway through the second half after Willard was assessed a technical foul following several calls in a row that went against Seton Hall. The Pirates answered with five in a row to pull back within one, before Gillespie responded with four straight points, and Justin Moore and Jermaine Samuels scored inside to push the lead to nine with 7:21 left.

Despite the heartbreaking defeat, Seton Hall had to feel good about itself after standing toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country. This certainly was a better performance than the Pirates’ previous loss, an 89-53 setback at No. 11 Creighton on Jan. 6. Now they have to rebound Friday night at Butler.

“One thing about this team is our positivity,” Mamukelashvili said. “I hate losing, but at the same time, I feel like we learned a lot from this game. We’re just showing everybody what we can do against great teams when we battle.”

Graduate senior Bryce Aiken returned sooner than expected from his latest ankle injury, but was held scoreless in 10 minutes. Aiken reinjured his ankle Jan. 6 at Creighton and has appeared in just eight contests this year after transferring from Harvard.