NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Corey Smith hit a layup as time expired and Vanderbilt advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament with a 65-63 victory over Wichita State on Monday night. Vanderbilt (20-13) will play at Memphis on Wednesday night for a berth in the NIT semifinals in New York.
Mario Moore hit nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 31 points for the Commodores.
With the game tied at 63 with 0.7 seconds left, Jason Holwerda threw a pass the length of the court to an open Smith, who caught the ball and laid it in as time expired, touching off a wild celebration on the Memorial Gym floor.
Moments earlier, Wichita State's Jamar Howard nearly forced overtime by converting an offensive rebound off a missed free throw to tie the game.
Vanderbilt's DeMarre Carroll blocked a potential layup by Howard with six seconds remaining to protect a 61-60 Vanderbilt lead. Moore made two free throws to push Vanderbilt's lead to 63-60. The Commodores fouled Sean Ogirri, who made the first foul shot and missed the second intentionally.
Moore hit four 3-pointers in the final four minutes as Vanderbilt recovered from blowing a 12-point lead in the second half.
Julian Terrell scored 14 points and had 14 rebounds for Vanderbilt, which extended its non-conference winning streak to 24 games.
Paul Miller led Wichita State (22-10) with 13 points and six rebounds. PJ Couisanrd, Matt Braueuer and Randy Burns all scored 11. Vanderbilt lost a 12-point second half lead when Wichita State went on a 17-2 run to take a 50-46 lead with 4:36 to play.
The Shockers saw their season end with a defeat in the NIT for the third straight year.
Vanderbilt advanced to the NIT quarterfinals for the first time since 1998.
Vanderbilt set a school-record for home victories with 17 and recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1993-94
