Senior night signified the beginning of the end of an era for Alanas Castillo and his family.
Since 2015, at least one of the four brothers has been a part of Lemont’s boys basketball program, starting with Lukas Rekasius and then continuing with twins Matas and Rokas Castillo.
That run is wrapping up with Alanas.
“His parents were here and so was Lukas,” Lemont coach Rick Runaas said. “It was a little bit emotional. They have meant so much to our program, and it was special night.”
Alanas Castillo also put on a show to celebrate, draining four 3-pointers en route to a 15-point performance for host Lemont in a 65-38 South Suburban Blue victory over Bremen.
Castillo added four rebounds and four steals for Lemont (20-7, 11-0). Gabriel Sularski scored 16 points and Matas Gaidukevicius chipped in with 14 points and five rebounds.
Jalen Clardy scored his team’s first seven points and finished with 16 for Bremen (10-18, 4-8).
Castillo’s departure, meanwhile, could be the end of an era in more ways than one at Lemont.
“It’s going to be weird,” Alanas said. “And I don’t think there will be any Lithuanian players here, either. Maybe one or two. It’s a dying breed.”
Casitllo’s three brothers accomplished a lot for Lemont’s program while being recruited to compete in college. Rekausius played at Carthage and the twins are playing for Wisconsin-Parkside.
But none of them did what Alanas is hoping his team can do — win the conference title with a perfect 13-0 record.
Ruunas said it’s never been done at Lemont and the players are making it a goal to seal the deal in the next two weeks, with conference games Friday at Hillcrest and Feb. 18 at Tinley Park.
“This is something we expected,” Castillo said. “We’ve been working hard. It’s rewarding because we are playing well. We’re playing together and we’re getting our things together.”
Castillo confirmed that he followed in his brothers’ footsteps when it came to sports.
“I played the same sports as they did,” he said. “Basketball just came to me. I think I started in third or fourth grade. When I started, I was always the short one playing.”
It’s no longer the case for the 6-foot-6 Castillo, who experienced a growth spurt early in his high school career. Regardless of height, he had a habit of driving inside before discovering 3-pointers.
“I taught myself to shoot from the outside,” he said. “I don’t know what happened, but I just started making them and I started shooting more. I take about 200 shots a day.”
While Castillo was thrilling the crowd with his shots from 3-point range, Gaidukevicius delivered three bring-the-house-down dunks.
“I didn’t learn that from my parents,” Gaidukevicius said of his dunking prowess. “My sophomore year, I worked on my vertical in the summer, so that helped a lot.
“My first dunk was a rim-grazer. I barely got it over, but I counted it.”
Castillo, who’s receiving looks from NCAA Division III schools, wants to keep playing in college.
“I’ve been playing for so long,” he said. “I don’t know why, but I have a good feeling every time I touch a basketball.”
Runaas said Castillo also brings a ton of good feelings to the team.
“He’s so upbeat and he always jokes around,” Runaas said of Castillo. “He can be silly and goofy. That’s all great stuff. He keeps us on our toes and keeps it lively.
“And when he making that outside shot, woo, that’s quick. It’s a quick release. He’s looking for it and he knows he has the green light.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
