New York ? Darris Nichols hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to lift West Virginia to 63-62 victory over Mississippi State in the semifinals of the NIT at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.

Nichols finished with 17 points and Frank Young added 16 to help the Mountaineers (26-9) advance to the NIT finals for the first time since winning the title in 1942. West Virginia, which will face Clemson in the finals on Thursday night, had lost its last three appearances in the semifinals.

Nichols’ basket capped a wild sequence in the final minute. West Virginia came back from a 14-point deficit in the second half and took a 60-59 lead when Jamie Smalligan made 2-of-3 free throws with 53 seconds left.

Barry Stewart’s jumper regained Mississippi State’s lead 9 seconds later.

The Mountaineers then had three chances on the offensive end. Young missed a three, Smalligan got the rebound and missed a short jumper, and Da’Sean Butler missed a layup attempt. Jamont Gordon got the rebound for the Bulldogs, was fouled by Butler and made one free throw with 16.3 seconds left to give Mississippi State a 62-60 lead.

Nichols missed a three with 5 seconds left, but the Mountaineers got the rebound and called timeout with 2.1 to go.

On the ensuing inbounds play, Bulldogs coach Rick Stansbury was on the court screaming for a timeout before Alex Ruoff inbounded the ball, but the coach wasn’t seen by the officials. After Nichols’ game-winning shot, Stansbury slammed the table.

The postgame handshakes were delayed briefly as the officials huddled around the courtside monitor to check if any time remained after Nichols’ basket. After about 3 minutes, the officials ruled the three-pointer good, and no time was left.