Region 4A First Round: Vermillion vs. Beresford
**Photo from the Press & Dakotan**
Vermillion struggled coming out of halftime but used a series of runs to pull away late in the game to defeat Beresford 60-43.
First Half
Both teams traded leads the whole first half, trading momentum. Senior Blake Pederson was having his way down low with his strength but struggled from the free throw line. Senior Jonah Larson also struggled with a few free throws in the first half. When Larson would drive Vermillion would step in front of him forcing him to pass out to shooters which were effective for most of the first half. Plitzuweit ended the first half with a bang driving through several defenders and somehow laid it up to give the Tanagers a 28-25 lead at the half.
Second Half
A.J. Plitzuweit led the way to the victory, ending a 5-minute drought without a field goal with a transition three-pointer. The senior who averages about 34 points a game, finished with 39 points. Vermillion used a 10-2 run to start the fourth quarter to pull away from the Watchdogs 60-43.
Takeaways
Beresford never really got going on the offensive side of the ball. Even though Plitzuweit had 16 at the half for Vermillion, the Tanagers didn’t really score a whole lot in the first half either. The main difference in the second half was Vermillion found their stroke a little bit, while Beresford continued to struggle.
Plitzuweit was 5 points away from outscoring the whole Beresford team. He did this while still involving his teammates and playing hard defense. He stuffed the stat sheet with 39 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and six steals.
Three Watchdogs were in double figures: Tyler Kropuenske and Sam Nelson had 10. Jonah Larson had 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Beresford ends their season at 8-13. Nelson and Larson played their last high school basketball game. Larson will play for Mounty Marty next year after a stellar high school career.
Vermillion advances to play at Dakota Valley on Friday for a chance to play in the Round of 16.