Sandro Mamukelashvili scored a game-high 25 points, including the 1,000th of his four-year career, as Seton Hall avoided a major upset against short-handed DePaul with a 60-52 win Wednesday in Newark, N.J.

Mamukelashvili also grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out four assists for the Pirates (13-8, 10-5 Big East). Seton Hall's NCAA Tournament at-large hopes would have absorbed a major broadside with a loss to the conference's last-place team.

Jared Rhoden added 17 points and Myles Cale kicked in 11 for Seton Hall, which survived 37.3 percent shooting and getting outrebounded 43-36.

Pauly Paulicap paced the Blue Demons (3-10, 1-10) with 15 points and 10 rebounds, but he was the only DePaul player to score over the game's final eight minutes. Freshman Kobe Elvis scored a career-high 13 points but also committed nine of DePaul's 20 turnovers.

Playing without their top two scorers, Javon Freeman-Liberty (shoulder) and Charlie Moore (knee), the Blue Demons led for most of the first half and still owned a 46-42 edge with 11 minutes remaining in the game.

An 11-2 surge gave Seton Hall a 53-48 lead with 5:07 to go.

After Paulicap's put-back with 3:57 left pulled the visitors within 53-52, DePaul didn't score for the game's remainder. The Blue Demons missed their last five shots and mixed in three costly turnovers. The Pirates boasted a 19-4 advantage in points off turnovers.

Mamukelashvili connected on a 3-pointer on Seton Hall's second possession. The Pirates then went colder than the weather in much of the country, managing only a Rhoden layup over the next 9 1/2 minutes as DePaul established a 13-5 lead.

Even after Seton Hall finally found some traction offensively, grabbing a 22-21 edge when Rhoden drilled a 3-pointer with 4:13 left in the half, it was clear that the Blue Demons weren't going away. In fact, they clamped down defensively, allowing only five points for the half's remainder.

DePaul took momentum into the locker room when Ray Salnave tossed in a running 3-pointer as time expired, giving the Blue Demons a 31-27 cushion.

--Field Level Media