FULLERTON, Calif. -- Joe McDonald hit a game-tying layup with three seconds remaining to help George Washington avoid a monumental collapse, and the Colonials beat Miami 71-63 in overtime in the opening game of the Wooden Legacy on Thursday morning.

McDonald's clutch layup tied the game at 59 after George Washington (5-0) had blown a late double-digit lead, and the Colonials opened the extra period on a 12-2 run to secure the win and extend their best start to a season in four years.

Nemanja Mikic scored a team-high 16 points off the bench and Isaiah Armwood had 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead GW, which was up 47-35 with 10:47 remaining but couldn't hold it. Maurice Creek (15 points), Kethan Savage (11) and McDonald (10) also reached double-figures for the Colonials.

Garrius Adams scored a game-high 17 points for the Hurricanes (3-3), including 15 in the second half. Rion Brown added 16 points and nine rebounds and James Kelly scored 11 points off the bench

A series of big runs had staked GW to its 12-point lead with just over 10 minutes left, but Adams and the `Canes stormed back to take a 59-57 lead with a minute remaining.

Adams, a graduate guard, poured in 15 points in a 10-minute stretch to lead Miami on a 22-8 run, and it took its first lead of the second half when Brown nailed a pair of free throws to give the Hurricanes a 57-55 lead with 2:43 remaining, which they extended to 59-56 with just over a minute left.

But Miami couldn't score on any of its final three possessions, and a Creek free throw and McDonald's late layup sent it to OT.

McDonald fired the opening salvo in the extra period, nailing a 3-pointer from the left elbow to give GW the lead back. Armwood followed with an emphatic dunk, and a 3-pointer by Creek as the shot clock expired sunk Miami for good.

The Colonials shot 47.5 percent from the field, including 50 percent from 3-point range, compared to 36.2 percent shooting for Miami.

The Colonials closed the first half on a 7-2 run to take a 27-26 lead at halftime, and then opened the second half on a 20-9 run give them that 47-35 lead.

George Washington's victory extended a pair of short winning streaks. The Colonials are now 3-0 all-time against Miami, beating them in 1971 and 1991 in addition to Thursday, and GW coach Mike Lonergan is now 3-0 all-time against Miami coach Jim Larranaga. As the head coach at Vermont, Lonergan defeated Larranaga's George Mason teams in 2007 and 2008.