NEW YORK - Tyler Cavanaugh scored 18 points to lead George Washington to a 73-70 win over Tennessee in a Barclays Center Classic semifinal Friday.
Kevin Larsen added 15 for the Colonials (6-0) in their second-best start in school history. The 2005-06 team started with an 8-0 mark. Patricio Garino had 12 and Yuta Watanabe finished with 10.
Tennessee fell to 4-2 in Rick Barnes' first season as coach of the Volunteers. Kevin Punter led all scorers with 24 points. Devon Baulkman chipped in with 16, and Robert Hubs III had 13.
The Colonials closed the first half with a 16-6 run to build a 38-27 lead. They extended it to as much as 15 in the second half
Tennessee cut the deficit to 69-68 after Baulkman drilled a 3 with 1:55 left. That was as close as Tennessee would get. McDonald made two jumpers to push George Washington's lead to five.