The Riverland Community College men’s basketball team may be out of playoff contention, but the Blue Devils still have some fight left in them. The Blue Devils (10-16 overall, 5-8 MCAC South) used a late burst to get past Minnesota West 69-67 in Riverland Gym Wednesday.

RCC freshman Darius Bell, who had 13 points, five rebounds and seven assists, tied the game at 64-64 when he hit a three-pointer with 2:10 left in the game and the Blue Devils took the lead for good when Jerome Cummings, who scored 16 points, converted a steal for a lay-up to make it 66-64 with 1:14 left.

“We had some big stops at the end. We’ve been working hard on defense lately and that’s been our best attribute as a team,” Bell said. “We’ve come a long way and we’ve put a lot of time in practice. We’ve progressed a lot and played more like a team each game. You’ve just got to zone in and pay attention to detail in practice.”

Marcus Myers had a steal and an offensive rebound before he hit two free throws to put RCC up 68-64 with 35.8 seconds left. Myers finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals.

“I’m trying to finish strong. It’s my last year and I want to take advantage of it,” said Myers, a sophomore from Milwaukee, Wis. “Coming in from high school, I didn’t have any looks. With the opportunity to come here, I was blessed.”

RCC has now won three of its last four games as it closes its season out against Anoka-Ramsey in Riverland Gym 1 p.m. Saturday.

“The resiliency of this group down the stretch has been huge,” RCC head coach Derek Hahn said. “We’ve had a lot of games were we’ve been down at halftime and we’ve come back to make it close. They’re really buying in on the defensive end.”

RCC freshman Marcus Wynn gave the team a boost in the first half with his outside shooting and he finished with 17 points, while going 5-for-12 on three-pointers.

Hahn said that Myers has been contacted by plenty of coaches and he will have the chance to continue his basketball career at another school if his grades are up to standard. He also said that Myers has been left a big impact on the RCC program.

“He’s been a program changer for us,” Hahn said of Myers. “He’s been an immediate impact guy and he’s taken that role and gone with it for a long time. It’s going to be tough on Saturday in his last home game.”

RCC scoring: Marcus Wynn, 17; Jerome Cummings, 16; Darius Bell, 13; Marcus Myers, 11; Kyler Paulson, 8; Greg Boyd, 2; Robert Dansby Jr., 2; field goals: 34 percent (23-for-68); three-pointers: 42 percent (11-for-26); free throws: 71 percent (12-for-17); rebounds: 43 (Myers, 8; Boyd, 8); turnovers: 9