Basketball Recap: Perry Takes Down North Royalton in a Playoff Battle

Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Perry walked away with it. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the North Royalton Bears on Sunday, sneaking past 66-63. The win was all the more spectacular given the Panthers' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 108th, while the Bears are ranked 14th).

Preston Dazey

Field Goal Percentage

03/16/25 vs North Royalton	58%
03/08/25 vs Shaker Heights	57%
03/06/25 vs Harding	50%
03/01/25 @ Solon	50%
02/25/25 @ Steele	75%
02/15/25 @ Alliance	50%

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Perry to victory, but perhaps none more so than Preston Dazey, who went 7-for-12 on his way to 18 points and eight rebounds. Dazey is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as he's posted one of at least 50% in the last six games he's played. Luke Wolf was another key player, shooting 50% from the field to rack up 18 points along with seven boards and three steals.

Perry has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-13 record this season. North Royalton moved to 25-2 with that defeat, which also ended their 24-game winning streak.

Coming up, Perry will face off against Westerville North at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Westerville North knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 17 contests -- so hopefully Perry likes a good challenge. North Royalton does not have any more games scheduled as of now.