George Washington 70, Rutgers 53: Kethan Savage posted 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds as the visiting Colonials downed the Scarlet Knights for the second straight season.

Joe McDonald added 15 points, nine rebounds and three steals for George Washington (2-0), which won for only the fifth time in 20 trips to the Rutgers Athletic Center. Patricio Garino was the only other Colonial to finish in double figures with 10 while Kevin Larsen tallied seven points and nine boards.

Myles Mack led the way with 14 points for Rutgers (0-1), which made its debut as a member of the Big Ten after spending the last two seasons in the American Athletic Conference and Atlantic 10, respectively. Seven Scarlet Knights blocked at least one shot as the team finished with nine, but Rutgers failed to help itself by committing 16 turnovers and shooting 35.2 percent from the field.

George Washington missed four of its first five shots, but held Rutgers scoreless over the same game-opening 5 ½-minute stretch. Bishop Daniels hit a jumper to bring the Scarlet Knights within two midway through the first half before Savage countered with a three-point play on the other end to begin a 20-9 run that left the Colonials with a 31-18 edge with just under three minutes to go before intermission.

Consecutive baskets by Garino stretched George Washington’s 12-point halftime margin to 16 before the first media timeout in the second half and McDonald’s 3-pointer with just over nine minutes left capped a 10-1 surge after Rutgers rallied within 10. The Scarlet Knights made one last push to trim their deficit to 13 before Larsen, Savage and Nick Griffin each hit buckets during a 9-0 run to put the game away.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Sunday marked the 43rd meeting between the former Atlantic-10 rivals. … Not including Mack, Rutgers’ starters combined for 18 points on 6-of-30 shooting. … The Colonials, who began a stretch of playing three of their next four on the road on Sunday, travel to No. 8 Virginia on Friday.