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January 20, 2025
By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X
The script was set for the Norwalk High boys basketball team when it hosted Paramount High last Friday at John Glenn High, its temporary home this season. The Lancers were wrapping up the first round of Mid-Cities League action against the last place Pirates, looking to remain in third place while at the same time, become at worst, eligible for an at-large berth in the CIF-Southern Section playoffs with their 14th win.
Norwalk never trailed but it wasn’t as crisp of a game as head coach Jim Webster would have liked as the Lancers nearly blew a 16-point lead late in the game. But senior Andruw Castellanos and junior Jesus Sanchez powered the purple and yellow to a 57-47 win for the program’s ninth straight win over the Pirates dating back to 2014.
“It seems like we weren’t able to take advantage early where we had some easy shots,” said Webster. “We were holding them to nothing, and then we couldn’t make our easy shots and drives to really take advantage of the first quarter and really put them away.”
While Norwalk (14-8, 3-2) scored the first eight points of the game, it began the game shooting three of 14 during that stretch. And when the first quarter had ended, the Lancers were up by eight points but were true on five of 18 field goals. Three of them came from Castellanos, who was already up to nine points.
Norwalk would increase the lead to 14 points with 3:57 left in the half on an offensive putback from senior Diego Morales and 90 seconds later, Norwalk would own the first of its four 16-point leads of the game. He would contribute to the second 16-point lead with 1:11 left in the half when he was fouled by Mario Cervantes Gutierrez, who was also called for a technical foul. Castellanos hit three of the ensuing four free throws and after a late basket from Kalani Tran, Norwalk was up 34-20 at the half.
Paramount (3-18, 0-5) began the second half with a little bit more urgency, going on a 9-3 lead in the first 3:34 with Ezekiel Rocha scoring half a dozen points. But then Norwalk scored the next eight points to lead 45-29, the third time it would have a 16-point lead. It would still be in control early in the fourth quarter when a free throw from junior David Zazueta made it a 50-36 contest.
However, the Lancers would connect on one of their first seven field goals in the stanza while the Pirates chipped away at their deficit, cutting it down to 52-45 with 4:35 left in the game on a free throw from Deon Anthony.
Castellanos would pace Norwalk with 26 points, eight rebounds and three steals while Sanchez had 16 rebounds and 15 points. His offensive putback with three minutes left to play would be the second of three field goals the team would get in the quarter. Of his 16 boards, 10 came on the offensive end with four resulting in baskets. For Castellanos, it’s the second straight game with 26 points and his seventh game this season of at least 21 points.
Norwalk grabbed 51 rebounds with nine of the 10 players who saw action getting at least one. Zazueta added seven rebounds and five points while Morales had six rebounds. Still, Webster wished the team could do better in that category.
“Those guys have a nose for the ball and in desperate times, they really go after it,” said Webster of Castellanos and Sanchez. “It helps when they’re being aggressive offensively and defensively. [Castellanos] seems to do what we need. Whatever he needs to do, he’ll make it happen.”
Nothing has come easy for the Lancers in the five league games so far. They beat fifth place Firebaugh High by two points on the road, lost to second place Downey High by four points and league-leading Bellflower High by six points before getting past fourth place Warren High by six points.
“Going into it, who knows what was going to happen,” said Webster. “But I think the league is pretty balanced and we’re finding a way to be in games, and then maybe we’ll be on top.”
After opening the second round of league play with Firebaugh, the Lancers will go to Downey on Friday before entertaining Bellflower on Wednesday in their final home game of the regular season. The 14 victories are the most for the program since the 2019-2020 season when that team went 18-12 and got to the quarterfinals and Norwalk has not finished in second place in any league since the 2009-2010 season.
“We knew we would have to get one of those teams, but every game is going to be tough,” said Webster. “Winning three games [in league] is a huge achievement at this point, and being in third place right now is where we want to be. So, we did what we needed to do.”
