George Washington advances to its first NIT quarterfinal

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (AP) Tyler Cavanaugh had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Patricio Garino scored 19 on 8-of-12 shooting and George Washington beat Monmouth 87-71 on Monday night to advance to its first NIT quarterfinal.

Fourth-seeded George Washington (25-10) will host No. 2 seed Florida (21-14) on Wednesday.

Monmouth got within 39-38 early in the second half but Garino's fast-break layup capped George Washington's 10-0 run for a 49-38 lead. GW's lead was cut to five with eight minutes left, but an 8-0 run, with 3-pointers by Garino and Cavanaugh, pushed its advantage to double digits and they were never threatened again.

Kevin Larsen added 19 points for George Washington, which made 9 of 19 from 3-point range while Monmouth struggled on 4-of-21 shooting.

GW led from the start. Garino hit a 3-pointer from the wing for a 14-4 lead and the Colonials were up 37-33 at halftime after shooting 16 of 30 from the field (53 percent). Garino had 12 points.

Micah Seaborn led Monmouth (28-8) with 24 points. Justin Robinson, the MAAC Player of the Year, was limited to six points on 2-of-16 shooting.