Justin Harper scored 18 points and Richmond shot 57.4 percent from the field to open its season with a 79-37 victory over The Citadel on Friday night.
Harper, a 6-foot-10 senior forward, made 7 of 8 shots from the field, including 4 of 4 from 3-point range, to lead the Spiders, who made it to the NCAA Tournament last season.
Cameron Wells scored 16 points to lead the Bulldogs, who were playing their first game under coach Chuck Driesell, the son of Hall of Fame coach Lefty Driesell.
The Citadel shot just 24.6 percent and trailed 42-16 at halftime.
Harper and Kevin Anderson hit 3-pointers to spark a 10-0 run that left Richmond with an 18-4 lead. Greg Robbins, Cedrick Lindsay and Darien Brothers had 3-pointers during a 13-0 run later in the half that put the Spiders in front 38-11 lead with 3:18 to play.
The Spiders were 11 of 20 on 3-pointers in the game.
