Basketball Recap: Make It Five in a Row for Norwalk

Andruw Castellanos

Points

12/13/24 @ South El Monte	29
12/11/24 @ Saddleback	21
12/10/24 @ Samueli Academy	15

South El Monte came into Friday's match looking for another win against Norwalk, but Andruw Castellanos wouldn't allow it. The Norwalk Lancers put the hurt on the South El Monte Eagles with a sharp 51-30 win on Friday thanks in part to Castellanos, who went 13 of 18 on his way to 29 points along with six boards and four steals. The game was his third in a row with at least ten points.

Despite the defeat, South El Monte saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Eli Lopez went 7 of 13 en route to 18 points. With that strong performance, Lopez is now averaging an impressive 15.1 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Trinidad Marquez, who posted six points.

The victory (which was Norwalk's fifth in a row) raised their record to 8-2. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.4 points per game. As for South El Monte, they are on a seven-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-9.

Norwalk will take on Garden Grove in a holiday battle at at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are headed into the matchup with plenty of momentum (Garden Grove has won three straight at home, while Norwalk won six straight on the road), something that'll have to change. South El Monte and El Monte will compete for holiday cheer at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. South El Monte is facing El Monte at the right time seeing as El Monte is stuck on a nine-game losing streak.