Davidson’s made 17 3-point shots matched the championship record set by St. Bonaventure in 2002. Earlier in the championship, Massachusetts had made 15 which tied it with the 2016 George Washington team for the second-highest total in a single game.

“Sometimes a hot-shooting hand can be contagious, and once a few went down for a bunch of us, we were able to get it rolling,” Davidson senior guard Kellan Grady said. “Overall it was a testament to execution on offense. To see success like we did today on the first step of our journey here in Richmond, we’re obviously delighted about that.”

Davidson was led by Grady, as the senior posted a season-best 32 points. Grady was 10-for-16 from the field. A 61.8 percent free-throw shooter this season, Grady went a perfect 8-for-8 Friday night.

Hyungjung Lee scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half, shooting 8-for-12 from the field.

Luka Brajkovic added 17 points for Davidson as the Wildcats post made four of his five shots from three-point range after making 11 all season. His smile grew wider with each make.

“I recognized early that they weren’t guarding me at the 3-point line, my man would just stay in the paint,” Brajkovic said. “I did not expect that they would not guard me. I used it as motivation and tried to make as many as I can.”

Bates Jones also scored 11 points, which included three made 3-pointers of his own.

“We thought we were running into a very hot team and they were,” Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. “Sometimes when you make early threes it can put you on your heels and I think it did, especially when we made them from a number of spots. When you get Bates Jones and Luka Brajkovic making the threes like they did, it adds to that hesitation and tentativeness from the opposing team. I think that was a big factor in the game.”

Davidson shot 59 percent from the field and earned a 35-28 victory in the rebounding battle.

This is the second time in the last three A-10 Championships that all of the top four teams advance to the semifinals with the feat also being accomplished in 2018. Prior to that, it had not happened since the 2005 version.

As was the case Thursday, Jordan Miller paced George Mason, this time with 15 points. Javon Greene added 10 points.

“Really disappointing way to end the year,” George Mason coach Dave Paulsen said. “We’ll look at the film and see mistakes defensively. A lot of it was Davidson played great. They hit tough shots and banked a couple in early. You have to tip your hat to Davidson across the board, they were the better team tonight. to win five in a row at the end of the year and until tonight be a very good defensive team. This leaves a bitter taste in our mouth for what was a remarkable last month for our group.”

Davidson led from the start, opening up a 10-0 run, with George Mason not converting its first field goal until 4:58 into the contest. By that point, the Wildcats had extended their lead to 13 points.

Despite shooting 41.7 percent from the field in the first half, George Mason trailed by 17 at the half, though Miller was able to beat the buzzer, providing a potential opportunity to gain momentum when the teams returned to the court for the second half.

Instead, Davidson picked up where it left off opening on an 8-0 run. The Patriots were able to match that run, bringing the score back to the original halftime deficit, but then went scoreless for two minutes and would not draw any closer.

A 13-0 Davidson run which saw three different Wildcats sink 3-point shots placed them up by 36 points. George Mason was held without a field goal for 6:48 of second-half action, with this run coming in the middle of that.

Towards the end of the contest, both teams emptied their benches so everyone could see the court and in George Mason’s case, so its seniors could get a final farewell and embrace. It was then that George Mason Associate Head Coach Duane Simpkins informed Paulson that senior AJ Wilson needed one more block to get the program record.

Wilson got that last block, securing his name in Patriots history.

“We originally brought the seniors out at the same time and that was going to be their farewell, then we decided to see if we could get it,” said Paulsen. “He played four years but not really, this was roughly a-third less of a normal season, so for him to get this record in three-and-two-thirds seasons if you will, really is pretty remarkable.”

With the victory, Davidson will face second-seeded VCU Saturday night at the Siegel Center. The Wildcats won its regular season finale at VCU 65-57, however the Rams played that game without Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland.