SHEFFIELD LAKE — Compared to Perry’s first half of the season, the No. 13 seed played much better than it started. However, the success into the playoffs on Feb. 27. After entering the postseason having won 10 of its last 11, Perry fell to No. 8 seed Brookside in a Division IV Northeast 1 Sectio nal final, 72-61. “Brookside is a good team, and we knew that coming in,” Perry coach Al Iacofano said. “We gave up some second-chance opportunities and they hit some dagger shots in the second half where we thought we could get it down to single digits.” PHOTOS: Brookside vs. Perry boys basketball, Feb. 27, 2026 Brookside, the Lorain County League co-champion, improved to 18-5 and advanced to a Division IV, Northeast 1 District semifinal on March 3 at Orville. Perry (13-10) immediately started on the wrong foot, and Brookside led 9-0 in the opening minutes. “The blitz in the first quarter was tough against a good basketball team,” Iacofano said. “It was 22-6 after the first quarter and it was a tough climb. … We were a step slow in the first quarter for whatever reason.” The deficit climbed to 22-6 after the first quarter. “We had a ton of film on them,” Brookside coach Larry Babics said. “At tournament time, everybody has film. (assistant coach Brian Kelly watched 10 games and took stats on 10 games. So we were able to understand who could shoot and who did not have the numbers to shoot. It allowed us to game plan our defense and we executed really well.” Perry guard Kaden Brewster scored 22 points against heavy resistance from Brookside. “We told (the team) that this is a district game,” Babics said. “This is an eight and a 13 seed with 35 teams (in the Division IV Northeast Region). This game is not some walk in the part.” Meanwhile, Brookside’s Zeke Lind (23 points) and Mason Waechter (25 points) were firing on all cylinders. “Everybody knocking down shots is huge,” Waechter said. “Everybody is scoring and the offensive rebounds are big in the start. I just feel like we are the taller team, so it started down low.” After trailing, 39-24, at halftime, Perry rallied by dominating the offensive glass and forcing turnovers. Perry almost cut the lead to single digits, but the Cardinals hit well-timed shots to halt any serious momentum. “You have very little margin of error,” Iacofano said. “It showed up where we were making a couple of shots and a couple of little runs there. … If you miss a layup or give up an uncontested 3 it is just a dagger." The score Brookside 72, Perry 61 ...read more read less