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The Richmond Blue Devils held off a furious fourth quarter rally from Algonac to secure their 14th win of the season, 47-44.

The Blue Devils made five three-pointers in the first half, and held a slim 22-17 advantage heading into the intermission. Richmond used some timely shooting in the third quarter to pull ahead 38-24 with just over a minute to play. However, four late free throws trimmed the lead to 38-28 heading into the fourth.

Algonac stormed back in the final stanza, trimming the lead to three, 39-36, before junior guard Nick Manchik knocked down a jumper to provide a little breathing room. The lead was cut to two points when Algonac’s Brian Dimaggio scored off a Joe Manchik turnover, but Richmond responded with a three-point play from Mario Yamarino. Dimaggio scored again for Algonac to provide the final margin of victory.

Nick Manchik and Joe Manchik scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, and Dustin Dagastino chipped in with 9 points and 9 rebounds. The varsity coaches praised the solid play of seniors Cameron Wright, Luke Beversdorf, and Nick Vansimaeys. “We could not have won without those guys”, said Coach Barnes after the game. “They all gave us significant contributions on both sides of the floor. I though the leadership of our veteran players was the difference tonight.”

Richmond resumes play next week with their last two home games of the season. On Wednesday, the Blue Devils take on University High from Ferndale (rescheduled from Feb 10) in the last game of a tripleheader, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30pm. On Friday, Almont comes to town, as Richmond celebrates the final home game for its four seniors. Tipoff for that game will be 6:00pm.