PITTSBURGH – With just over a minute left to play in an NIT first-round matchup against Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, junior Kethan Savage found himself in a familiar position.

It was not exactly a game-on-the-line situation, but up just 55-53 with under a minute to play, the guard knew he needed to score. Dribbling at the top of the key, Savage drove halfway to the rim, pulled up and hit a step-back jumper to give GW the final field goal it desperately needed.

A few free throws later, despite shooting just 34.4 percent from the field on the night, the Colonials secured their first-ever NIT win with a 60-54 victory over the Panthers in a quiet Petersen Events Center.

“Tonight, we didn’t turn the ball over, and we made Pitt turn the ball over. That was a key stat for us,” head coach Mike Lonergan said. “I knew [Pittsburgh] was going to be good defensively and play hard, but our guys responded.”

Savage would lead the Colonials off the bench with 17 points, while junior guard Patricio Garino added 14 points and a game-high four steals in the six-point win. Junior forward Kevin Larsen and junior guard Joe McDonald added seven points each, and Larsen posted a team-high nine rebounds.

“[Coming off the bench] allows me to be aggressive, and that was my mindset tonight,” Savage said. “[Pittsburgh] didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for us, and we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for them, so they didn’t know my game too well. So I just wanted to be aggressive and pick my shots.”

A layup from sophomore guard Cameron Wright opened the contest and allowed the Panthers jump out to an early lead at home. Wright would lead a Pittsburgh offense that shot 50 percent from the field in the first half with seven points in the frame.

Savage kept the Colonials alive before the break, hitting back-to-back threes in the game’s 14th minute. He would finish the first frame with a team-high 14 points, going five for six from the field.

The Panthers worked down low to secure a 17-12 lead midway through the first half as GW struggled to keep pace. But multiple Pittsburgh turnovers soon jolted the Colonials’ stagnant offense, which went on a 10-0 run following a Panthers missed free throw.

Larsen had two straight baskets in the double-digit run, while Garino padded a solid offensive effort in the first with six points and all of his four steals. The Colonials outscored the Panthers 15-4 off turnovers, of which they had just two, making up for a 35.3 percent clip from the field to take a 28-23 lead at halftime.

“I think we were mentally prepared,” Garino said. “We were hungry for the game and we didn’t want our season to end on a bad note.”

A resurgent Panthers squad fought back to cut its deficit to two early in the second half, but GW matched the offensive intensity throughout. Strong play by Garino and Larsen helped GW hold serve for much of the frame.

“When we struggle to score in the second half, we stop playing really hard… That’s been the frustrating thing about this season,” Lonergan said. “But tonight, even when we had some scoring droughts, our guys still grinded it out defensively, figured out ways to get to the free-throw line and get offensive rebounds.”

Pittsburgh closed within two again after junior guard James Robinson hit his team’s first three-pointer with about eight minutes to play. But senior forward John Kopriva, who finished the night with five points and four rebounds, followed suit on the other end to pull his team ahead 50-45 and add to GW’s 23.5 three-point shooting percentage.

Kopriva’s bucket would be the Colonials’ last field goal until Savage’s last-minute jumper as McDonald and Garino finally made some free throws and a total of 16 Panthers’ turnovers guided GW to the win in the game’s closing seconds.

Despite the Panthers out-rebounding them 41-35 on the night, the Colonials held the edge on the offensive boards 14-6 and scored seven second-chance points to Pittsburgh’s two, a testament to the team’s determination, Lonergan said.

“Joe, Patricio and Kevin combined for 11 offensive rebounds. To me, that was just heart and effort and energy, and we had it tonight for whatever reason,” Lonergan said. “I think our guys really wanted a win and they were battling in there on the boards.”

The Colonials will play the winner of No. 1 seed Temple and No. 8 seed Bucknell in the second round of the NIT.