It was not a performance that lived up the usual standard he’s set in his time in South Orange, but Sandro Mamukelashvili played some of the most significant minutes of his Seton Hall career on Wednesday night.

The junior forward played for one five-minute stretch in the first half of the No. 10 Pirates’ 64-57 win over DePaul at the Prudential Center. He did not make a mark on the scoresheet, ending up with more fouls (2) than points (1) in his time on the court.

Mamukelashvili’s return did impact his teammates on the court and the fans in the stand who have waited anxiously for his return. One of the leaders of the team was back, and the excitement was palpable.

“When he subbed in, I heard the horn, and the next thing I know I heard the crowd going crazy,” senior guard Quincy McKnight said. “It brought happiness to us, seeing our brother out on the court with us.”

Seton Hall forward Sandro Mamukelashvili checks in for the first time since he broke his wrist on December 8 and gets a raucous applause. pic.twitter.com/KdkPga666F — Brian Fonseca (@briannnnf) January 29, 2020

Mamukelashvili returned slightly ahead of schedule, just shy of two months after breaking his right, non-shooting wrist against Iowa State on December 8.

At the time of his injury, he was Seton Hall’s second-leading scorer, averaging 10.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting a team-best 43.5 percent from deep.

His first appearance after missing 10 games did not match that output, mostly because he had little time on the court.

That was by design. The short stint was enough to leave Pirates’ head coach Kevin Willard feeling good about where Mamukelashvili stands.

“Sandro played much better than I even thought he would for having four practices,” Willard said. "I was actually very encouraged; he wasn’t. I was just encouraged (with) where he was. In the second half, I just couldn’t get him back in there. For a guy that hasn’t played in that long, it just wasn’t the time.”

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Mamukelashvili will be eased in as the calendar flips to February and inches towards March.

His next opportunity to get game action comes in an early morning tip against Xavier on Saturday in Newark, and if all goes well, he’ll have three games under his belt when the Pirates head to Philadelphia to face Villanova in a battle of the Big East’s best.

“Sandro brings a different aspect to the game for us with his versatility,” McKnight said. “He’s going to get into a groove."

Brian Fonseca may be reached at bfonseca@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @briannnnf. Find NJ.com on Facebook.