After building a big first quarter lead, the Beresford Watchdog boys held off the Centerville Tornadoes in an overtime win, 64-62, on Tuesday, December 31st.
The Watchdogs offense was on fire to start the game, and they built a 21-7 lead by the end of the first quarter. Centerville started climbing back into the game in the second quarter. The Tornadoes cut the lead to 32-24 by halftime. The Tornado run continued into the third quarter.
Centerville scored the first eight points of the third quarter and tied the game 32-32 with 4:00 left in the quarter. They eventually took the lead 37-34 a minute later. The two teams traded baskets throughout the rest of the third quarter, but the Tornadoes led 43-39 going into the fourth quarter. The two teams went back and forth in the fourth quarter. The game was tied 51-51 before the Watchdogs took a 58-55 lead late in the game. With just seconds left, Centerville got a game-tying three-point shot to go through the hoop with seconds left to tie the game 58-58 and force overtime. In the overtime period, Beresford held a 64-62 lead with second remaining. The Watchdog defensive pressure kept Centerville from being able to take a shot before the final buzzer sounded.
Malachi James finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. Aidan Hamm had 14 points and two rebounds. Tiegen Nyhaug added eight points and 10 rebounds. Cooper Nelson tallied seven points with 10 rebounds.
