GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Chris Lofton found his shooting touch just in time to keep Tennessee alive in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Lofton's twisting fade-away jumper from the corner with 0.4 seconds remaining lifted the secondseeded Vols to a 63-61 victory over Winthrop in the first round of the Washington Region on Thursday before a crowd of 22,073 at Greensboro Coliseum.

"I did everything I could do,'' said Torrell Martin, who led the 15th seeded Eagles with 14 points and 13 rebounds. "It's a one-in-a-million shot. It looked like the ball curved in.''

It mattered not that Lofton hit just 5 of 14 shots and was 2 of 9 from 3-point range.

"It was just catch and shoot,'' said Lofton, who, with 2.9 seconds left, came off a screen set by Major Wingate to take the inbounds pass from Dane Bradshaw. "I was just glad to get it over.''

The Vols (22-7) play No. 7-seeded Wichita State (25-8) in the second round at 3:40 p.m. Saturday. The Shockers, the Missouri Valley Conference champion, beat Seton Hall (18-12) 86-66 in the first game.

The final minute was filled with intensity, with both teams scrapping hard on defense and struggling on offense.

With the scored tied 61-61 and 1:05 left, the Eagles (23-8) called time out to plan a go-ahead score. But Winthrop's Craig Bradshaw missed a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left, and Wingate pulled down the rebound.

The Vols brought the ball up and called for time with 21.5 seconds remaining to set up a potential game-winner.

C.J. Watson's 3-point attempt with seven seconds left was off target and bounded high off the rim. Lofton battled for the rebound, but Winthrop's Chris Gaynor knocked the ball away and into the backcourt.

Dane Bradshaw was in the right place at the right time -- as he has seemingly been all year -- chasing down the loose ball down with 5.6 seconds on the clock.

Bradshaw started to drive, but UT coach Bruce Pearl intervened, calling timeout.

"Dane is a guy that will make a great pass, but especially with that wrist, not necessarily the guy that's going to make that shot,'' Pearl said. "I just thought we'd get a better look with a timeout.''

Pearl drew up three plays during the break before settling on two: a back screen and lob pass to Andre Patterson, or a screen with Lofton curling to the corner.

"I really didn't understand the play call in the huddle,'' Dane Bradshaw said. "I was really just watching Chris.''

Who in the building wasn't?

"Chris could go 0-for-100,'' Patterson said, "but with five seconds left, we're going to get the ball to him.''

Lofton said it's the first last-second game-winner he has made in his career.

"I hit some to tie games and send them to overtime,'' Lofton said. "I wanted the ball in my hands in clutch.''

The Eagles provided a final thrill when James Shuler's full-court pass caromed off the backboard toward center Craig Bradshaw.

Patterson got a hand on the ball, but the clock didn't start, and Bradshaw got a shot off before the buzzer sounded. Officials said that had the shot gone down, it would have been reviewed.

Instead, the jubilant Vols viewed ESPN highlights of the win in the locker room and began talking about Wichita State.

Lofton had 10 points as UT took a 36-34 lead into the half, but he was held scoreless in the second half until his last-second shot.

The Vols were forced to play the majority of the second half without Watson, who was taken out after picking up his fourth foul at the 16:05 mark.

Gaynor, Winthrop's speedy point guard, seized the moment, bursting past UT sub Jordan Howell for a layup that gave the Eagles a 46-45 lead with 15:50 remaining.

In the last 16 minutes, neither team led by more than four points, and the lead changed eight times.

Lofton's shot made the highlights, but defense and interior play won the game.

Wingate scored a game-high 15 points, claimed six rebounds and blocked three shots, and Patterson had 12 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.

"Our big men stepped up,'' Lofton said. "They were the MVPs.''

History Lesson: UT, making its first NCAA tournament appearance in five years, improved to 9-14 in the tournament.

Pearl, with 22 wins, becomes the Vols' winningest first-year coach, passing Don DeVoe, who won 21 in 1978.

Head Scratcher: Lofton said he removed his head band at the half to "change things up'' after going 4 of 8 from the floor and 2 of 5 from beyond the 3-point line in the first 20 minutes.

Lofton was 1-for-6 from the floor (0-for-3 from 3-point range) in the second half, but he said the last-second shot changed his mindset.

"Hopefully now I'll get back to my normal self,'' he said, "and knock some shots down.''