Atlanta ? Kenton Paulino beat West Virginia at its own game, hitting a three-pointer as time expired to give Texas a 74-71 victory over the Mountaineers on Thursday night in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Kevin Pittsnogle made a three-pointer for West Virginia to tie it with five seconds left, but Paulino answered with his three-pointer for Texas as the buzzer sounded.

Officials quickly huddled to confirm Paulino’s shot was good.

“The whole thing was to get it down the floor and see what happens,” Paulino said.

The senior said he never had made a similar shot.

“No, not even close,” he said.

West Virginia, second in the nation in three-pointers made this season, made 15 of 33 treys in the game. Texas was 4-for-19 from three-point range.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points for second-seeded Texas (30-6), and Pittsnogle led the sixth-seeded Mountaineers (22-11) with 19.

Texas' Kenton Paulino (12) goes up for the winning shot over West Virginia's Frank Young. Paulino's buzzer-beating three-pointer lifted UT to a 74-71 victory Thursday in Atlanta.

Texas is in the round of eight for the first time since 2003, when it advanced to the Final Four. The Longhorns will play LSU on Saturday in the Atlanta Regional final. LSU beat top-seed Duke, 62-54, earlier Thursday.

West Virginia was denied a second straight appearance in the round of eight.

The Mountaineers rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to briefly take the lead, but the Longhorns – led by the inside play of Aldridge – answered the challenge.

“We felt good about the first half, but we know how West Virginia shoots the ball,” Paulino said.

With 1:29 left to play, Pittsnogle was called for a foul on Aldridge, though it was Pittsnogle who came away from the contact with a bloody nose.

Aldridge made one of two free throws for a 68-65 lead, and A.J. Abrams added two free throws with 26.9 seconds left to make it 70-65.

Texas' P.J. Tucker, top right, and teammate Brad Buckman (22) reach for a rebound against West Virginia's J.D. Collins. UT drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to claim a 74-71 victory Thursday in Atlanta.

Mike Gansey, who had 18 points for West Virginia, hit a three-pointer with 15 seconds left to cut it to 70-68.

A free throw by Aldridge pushed the lead to 71-68, setting the stage for the two late three-pointers.

Relying almost completely on its three-point shooting, West Virginia trailed 39-27 at halftime. All of its points came on three-pointers and free throws until, with only six seconds left in the half, J.D. Collins scored on a short jumper for the Mountaineers’ first two-point shot.

When Texas began anticipating West Virginia would continue to rely on three-pointers, the Mountaineers quickly closed the deficit by scoring on cuts to the basket.

West Virginia scored eight points in the first minute of the second half and trailed 40-37 following a rare inside basket by Pittsnogle 4 minutes into the half.

A trey by Pittsnogle with 8:14 left pulled West Virginia even at 58, and the Mountaineers took a 61-58 lead on a three by Gansey less than a minute later.

Texas answered with seven straight points.