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RICHMOND, Mich. – Richmond junior Nick Manchik led all scorers with 18 points and Dustin Dagastino added 12 as the Blue Devils defeated rival Armada 55-52 in overtime in a game that proves that some of the most heart-wrenching defeats bring about the lessons that make for some of the most uplifting wins.

Trailing by three with very little time left on the clock Friday night, Armada Tiger and league all-star Jacob Moegle nailed a buzzer beating three-pointer to tie Richmond 46-46 and force an overtime, a clutch play that could have devastated the Blue Devils – had they not gone through this before.

On December 30, Richmond lost two leads, one in the last 0.5 seconds of regulation and again in the last three seconds of overtime en route to a disappointing 55-49 double overtime loss at home against St. Clair. Players were devastated after the game, and some used that as inspiration to beat the Tigers Friday.

“When we went to overtime, all I kept thinking was 'I don't want to have a 'St. Clair' game as my last game at home against Armada,” said senior guard Nick Vansimaeys.

“I wanted to win more than anything.”

The overtime, however, proved to be eerily similar to the St. Clair game at the start; Richmond fell behind by four early. The Blue Devils powered back, however, by doing something that they had been working on all week in practice – driving the paint, making lay-ups, drawing contact, and making clutch free throws.

“We've basically been trying to reteach shot selection and tonight that was huge,” said Richmond head coach Jim Barnes after the game.

“In the past couple of games, we were settling for three-pointers early in possessions, and we have been emphasizing that the layups are there if we are patient.”

Even then, the Blue Devils still found themselves in a familiar situation as the Tigers had one last chance to send the game to double overtime. With the game in his hands and no time on the clock, Jacob Moegle couldn't shake Vansimaeys and air-balled the last shot of the game.

“Nick [Vansimaeys] played Moegle tough all night,” said Barnes.

“Every shot that he took was contested, and to hold a player like that the way he did was incredible.”

That role was not lost on Vansimaeys.

“As the game went back and forth, I didn't even look at the scoreboard. I just worried about guarding Jake Moeger.”

The win comes almost one year to the day since the last time the Blue Devils enjoyed a victory at the expense of their rivals from Armada, and the fanfare of this kind of win was not lost on the players.

“It's the greatest thing ever,” said game-high scorer Nick Manchik.

“On paper, they were supposed to beat us, and nobody really gave us a chance. It felt great to prove ourselves as a team tonight.”

Richmond next travels to Harper Woods for a 7:00 tip-off on January 12, and while the Blue Devils can celebrate Friday, Coach Barnes knows that the difference between the jubilation that the Blue Devils got to feel against Armada and the devastation that they experienced against St. Clair is the difference between a couple of bounces of the ball – and experience.

“If we don't go through the St. Clair game the way we did, we don't win tonight.”