The No. 1 ranked Blue Devils were able to just enough down the stretch to hold off Minnesota West and finish off a 68-66 victory in Riverland Gym Wednesday. The Blue Devils, who have now won 19 straight games, came up with a key stop when Nazih Chehade contested a game-tying jump shot by West’s Zackery Rygg as time expired and the shot missed to seal the RCC win. Chehade finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for RCC, which had led 55-40 before the Bluejays (15-4 overall) stormed back in the game. West never tied or took the lead, but the last minute of the game was highly contested. “Coach (Derek Hahn) puts us in position and we just go out there and execute,” said Chehade, who is from Pompano Beach, Florida. “We’ve got to get a little better though, because our last few games have been too close. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing and keep getting those wins.” RCC (19-0 overall) received a strong performance from freshman Joe Poyser, who had 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots. In the late minutes, Poyser, who is from Wildwood, Florida, took a crucial charge, he contested a three-pointer and he pulled down some big rebounds. “Rebounding on both ends of the court is really where (Joe’s) attributes are,” Hahn said. “He gets off the floor and he rebounds at a different level than a lot of players at this level. Defensively he can guard a lot of positions and he’s been a huge addition for us with some crucial games for us.” Poser missed the first half of RCC’s season as he was catching up on his GPA and dealing with some family issues. Now that he’s in the lineup, he’s embracing RCC’s chase of school history. “It’s definitely been a fun ride and it’s even more fun when I can actually participate. We all have the same vision and goal and that’s to win the national championship,” Poser said. “I believe that tomorrow’s going to come, regardless of what happens today. I try not to let things bother me too much in the moment. “ Austin grad Buai Duop gave the Blue Devils some breathing room when he scored to put the team up 57-49 with eight minutes left, the Bluejays were still able to hang around. “We struggled with free throw shooting, we struggled with ball security down the stretch and the biggest one was defensive rebound,” Hahn said. “We allowed two huge scores where the guy just didn’t turn around and block out for us. Those three things have got to improve because we’re going to play against a lot of good competition.” MW 26  40  –  66 RCC 41  27  –  68 RCC scoring: Nazih Chehade, 18; Christian Campbell, 17; Joe Poyser, 12; Damar Jenkins, 6; Buai Duop, 6; Lubab Kambalo, 5; Jency Davis, 3; Cory Marshall, 1 The post Blue Devils hang on in low scoring affair to stay unbeaten appeared first on Austin Daily Herald.