PITTSBURGH — Kethan Savage scored 17 points and Patricio Garino had 14 to lead George Washington to a 60-54 win over Pittsburgh in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday.
GW (22-12) will advance to face either Temple, the top seed in its region, or No. 8 seed Bucknell. The teams will play Wednesday night.
Cameron Wright had 11 points and Jamel Artis added 10 points for the Panthers (19-15), who ended their season on a five-game losing streak.
The Colonials took an early 10-6 lead after Savage hit a pair of 3-pointers, but the Panthers held them scoreless for more than five minutes. After a 10-2 Pitt run, George Washington closed the half strong to lead 28-23 at the break.
GW extended its lead to nine points out of the half before Pitt tied the game at 36. The Colonials went on an 8-0 run to go back up 44-36.
Pitt got within 55-53 with 1:07 left, but Savage answered with a basket and Joe McDonald made two free throws for a 59-53 lead with 20 seconds left.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.