Golden leads Richmond past George Mason 97-87

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Grant Golden scored a season-high 25 points as Richmond defeated George Mason 97-87 on Saturday.

Jacob Gilyard added 20 points and eight assists for the Spiders. Golden hit 10 of 13 shots. Nick Sherod had 19 points for Richmond (14-4, 4-1 Atlantic 10 Conference). Tyler Burton added 12 points.

Richmond shot 67%, its best showing since making 69% in a 2008 game.

Javon Greene scored a career-high 39 points and had five steals for the Patriots (12-6, 1-4). AJ Wilson added 19 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Miller had 12 points.

Richmond won its second straight game since losing leading scorer Blake Francis (17.6 ppg) because of a fractured sternum. Francis was injured going after a loose ball in a loss to Saint Louis a week ago. He did not play in the Spiders’ win over Davidson on Tuesday and it was announced on Thursday that he would miss four to six weeks.

The Spiders have their best record through 18 games since 1987-88 (15-3) and surpassed its win total from 2018-19 (13-20).

Richmond matches up against La Salle at home on Wednesday. George Mason plays UMass at home on Wednesday.