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 NEW YORK (AP) - Trailing by two with 2 seconds remaining, West Virginia was thinking victory instead of overtime. Darris Nichols hit a buzzer-beating 3-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.
"We said we were not going to take a 2, but we would win the game," Mountaineers coach John Beilein said. "The first option was Darris, and the second would have been Frank (Young). If they guard one, you know we felt good about either one."
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 the winner of the Air Force-Clemson game in the finals on Thursday night, had lost its last three appearances in the semifinals.
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