Richmond took an early 14-4 lead over Morehead State and kept the Eagles at bay for the rest of the half, heading into the break with a 30-21 margin in a third-round NCAA Tournament Southwest Region contest. The 12th-seeded Spiders held the 13th seed to 35 percent shooting and only committed three turnovers in controlling the action throughout the first half.
Morehead State got to within three points at 22-19 before Richmond finished the half on an 8-2 run. Neither team was effective from beyond the arc, shooting a combined 3-15. The Spiders held Demonte Harper, hero of Morehead's upset of Louisville, scoreless in the first frame. Harper did pull down six rebounds to lead all players.
Justin Harper scored nine points to pace a balanced Spider attack, with Dan Geriot and Kevin Anderson chipping in six apiece. Kenneth Faried and Ty Proffitt each tallied six for the Eagles. Faried grabbed five boards and authored the signature play thus far, leaping high to block Harper's dunk attempt midway through the period.