UMass came out firing in the first half to grab a seven point lead, only to allow Richmond get back into the game in front of their own fans.
The Minutemen hold a 35-31 lead at the break behind a team-high eight points from Jesse Morgan and senior center Sean Carter. Point guard Chaz Williams added six points on 2-of-5 shooting and added a team-high five rebounds. Redshirt freshmen Maxie Esho chipped in six points as well for UMass who shot 46.9 percent (15-32) in the half.
Freshmen guard Kendall Anthony had a team-high seven points for the Spiders, while Darrius Garrett and Cedrick Lindsay finished with six points. Lindsay the team's starting point guard missed Wednesday's game against George Washington with an injury, but played 14 minutes in the first half and added a rebound and an assist.
UMass had the advantage in the paint with a 20-15 rebounding advantage but Richmond stayed in the game behind their free throw shooting. The Spiders went 11-of-14 (78 percent) from the charity stripe, while UMass hit just 4-of-6 attempts.