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The Blue Devils used early defense to set the tone and sophomore Savier McCall eventually took over the game as they beat Minnesota West (2-13 overall) 86-52 in Riverland Gym Wednesday night.

RCC held West to 12 points over the first 12 minutes of the game as they jumped out to a 16-point advantage. West pulled to within 44-35 early in the second half, but RCC responded with a 10-0 run that was capped off by a McCall three-pointer.

McCall, a sophomore from Fort Lauderdale, Florida., finished with a career-high 36 points and he drained six three-pointers.

“I’ve been working on my shot throughout the season and I know my work is going to show,” McCall said. “I credit our coach (for our success). This is his program and we’re just doing what he tells us to do.”

The No. 11 ranked Blue Devils (17-1 overall) have now rattled off 17 straight wins after losing their first game of the year.

“Seventeen games is a long time, but it’s not the end of it,” McCall said. “I’m really happy and proud of what we’ve done, but we’ve got more business to take care of.”

RCC head coach Derek Hahn said that as the main holdover from last year’s team, McCall helps the Blue Devils on and off the floor.

“He’s a gem as a leader,” Hahn said. “He does all of the right stuff and he’s a vocal leader. He does things on the court. The only question about him from four-year coaches was if he could shoot or not and tonight he put that question to bed.”

Nazih Chehade, a freshman from Pompano Beach, Florida who scored nine points Wednesday, said the RCC is finding their stride and McCall has played a big role.

“Savier is the best captain I’ve ever had and we run through him,” Chehade said. “We really run off defense and that’s how we get our offense. It’s fun (winning 17 in a row), but we’ve got to stay focused.”

Avery Weddle, a freshman from Milwaukee, Wis., put in 12 points off the bench and Austin grad Buai Duop had six rebounds for RCC.

The Blue Devils will now host Anoka-Ramsey at 3 p.m. Sunday. Hahn said that will be a crucial game as RCC is now entering the heart of its conference schedule.

“Winning our first two conference games on the road was nice, but we’ve always been a firm believer that to make the Region tournament you’ve got to win at least eight conference games and we’ve won three of them,” Hahn said. “We have a huge one against Anoka-Ramsey and we’re hoping we play well.”

West 31  21  –  52

RCC 44  42  –  86

RCC scoring: Savier McCall, 36; Avery Weddle, 12; Nazih Chehade, 9; Daeshawn Jackson, 9; Christian Campbell, 7; DeWayne Thompson, 6; Rafel Balines, 4; Damar Jenkins, 2