Eric Frederick scored 18 points to lead Florida International past Utah Valley 65-62 on Saturday night.
The Wolverines twice trailed by 17 in the first half but closed to within 63-60 on Isiah Williams' layup with 7 seconds remaining.
Stephon Weaver's two free throws with 6 seconds left clinched the victory for the Panthers (3-1).
Florida International missed six straight free throws before Weaver's final two conversions, but ended with three offensive rebounds.
Utah Valley (0-2) rallied behind a 13-5 spurt during a 4:15 span late in the second half, capped by Williams' field goal.
Williams led the Wolverines with 14 points.
The Panthers held Utah Valley without a field goal for a stretch of 8:40 in a 14-1 first half run. Frederick scored seven straight points during the spurt and his field goal with 6:43 remaining increased the Panthers' lead to 20-7.
