Boys’ basketball: Westchester-Narbonne final will be tough and close

Saturday’s 8 p.m. City Section Division I championship basketball game between Westchester and Narbonne at Cal State Dominguez Hills has all the makings of a game that will go down to the final minute undecided.

I was at the first meeting between the two schools when Westchester won, 62-54, on Dec. 26 at Cathedral. Narbonne led much of the way but Westchester won to give Coach Ed Azzam his record-setting coaching victory.

Narbonne’s football players were not in basketball shape. Westchester also was not at full strength.

Narbonne has been playing outstanding defense. Westchester does not have a whole lot of outside shooters. It relies on the likely City Section player of the year, 6-foot-7 Keith Fisher, to contribute inside. If the Gauchos can box out Fisher and do a good job of rebounding, the top-seeded Comets could be in trouble.

The surprise player in City Section basketball this season has been Narbonne’s D’Mauria Jones. He never played high school basketball before but his athleticism has given the Gauchos a huge lift.

Westchester sometimes struggles at the free-throw line. The Comets will need to do better and get strong play off the bench from Dwight Murray, Marquis Moore and Andre Allen. The big advantage Westchester has is its depth. But if Narbonne is able to stay out of foul trouble and stay even in the battle for rebounds, beware.

The game will be televised by Time Warner Cable’s SportsNet and streamed live at TWCCommunity.com.

The girls’ final between Palisades and El Camino Real will take place at 6 p.m.

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