NEW YORK

George Washington won its first National Invitation Tournament championship, getting 18 points from Kevin Larsen and pulling away in the second half to beat Valparaiso 76-60 on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Patricio Garino had 14 points and the fourth-seeded Colonials (28-10) set a school record for wins in a season with a dominant performance over the final 20 minutes. They won their fourth straight game against a higher-seeded team and sent three senior starters out with a tournament trophy, softening the sting of being rebuffed by the NCAA selection committee.

Tyler Cavanaugh, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, scored 12. He averaged 19.4 points and nine rebounds for the tourney.

Joe McDonald added 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists for George Washington, which extended a one-point halftime lead to 19 late in the game. The Colonials went 22 for 26 at the foul line, compared to 6 of 6 for Valpo.

George Washington, which starts players from Argentina, Denmark and Japan, used its 1-3-1 zone to hold Valparaiso star Alec Peters to two points in the second half. Peters finished with 15 and was the only double-figure scorer for the top-seeded Crusaders (30-7), who went 8 for 28 from 3- point range.

It was the first title in a national postseason tournament for the Colonials, who enjoyed much of the fan support among the crowd of 7,016. The school is located four blocks from the White House in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C., and New York City is about a 225-mile trip up I- 95.