Niles West spoils Maine West's Senior Night

Wolves hoping win provides boost for playoffs

Before Tuesday night’s game, the Maine West celebrated the efforts of its four seniors on the boys basketball team on Senior Night.

But the celebration was short-lived as Niles West controlled the game from start to finish en route to a 75-53 win in a Central Suburban League crossover game in Des Plaines.

“Tonight we really played with a lot of energy, excitement and enthusiasm from beginning to end,” Niles West coach Bob Williams said.

Niles West (12-13) started off the game with a 14-4 run. The Wolves forced seven turnovers that led to six points in the opening quarter. 

“Right from the start, (Niles West’s) defensive pressure just created a lot of turnovers and led to quick points for them,” Maine West coach Erik McNeill said. “And when we didn’t turn it over, we didn’t get good scoring opportunities. Next thing you know, we’re down 14-4.”

Senior Lorenzo Fiol, who led the Wolves with 17 points along with two rebounds and three steals, called the win a good “pick-me-up” game heading into Monday’s regional.

“We treated (tonight’s game) like a regional game because we didn’t want to go into next week flat,” Fiol said. “We definitely needed a confident win like this and hopefully this carries on into the playoffs.”

Maine West (9-18) seemed to gain a bit of momentum after 6-foot-3 junior Odera Eneogwe (15 points) put a finishing touch on a two-handed slam, narrowing the Niles West lead to 23-14 with 5 minutes, 44 seconds left in the half.

But another turnover and the three-point shooting of junior guard Ramsan Younatham (11 points) led Niles West to a 13-1 run late in the second quarter. Niles West outscored Maine West 21-15 for the quarter and went into the half with a 39-24 lead.

Forward Alex Samuelson, who was one of the seniors recognized, led the Warriors with 17 points, including eight of his team’s 16 points in the fourth quarter.

“(Samuelson has) consistently done all the right things for us,” McNeill said. “We still expect him to do the right thing every time. He comes to practice every day and works hard.”

Although a win would have been ideal on Senior Night, Samuelson didn’t entirely let the loss take away from their special night as the team celebrated with a postgame meal. Seniors Tommy Ross, Chris Schiltz and Chris Garcia also were honored.

“(Senior Night) is special to me because I have been playing basketball my entire life,” Samuelson said. “I’ve been playing since I was four. This is kind of the day I’ve always played for. There’s nothing like high-school basketball, but playing that last game at home really hurts when you lose that game.”

Niles West had two other scorers in double figures - junior forward Lauris Herth with 12 points and junior guard Tony Pierce with 10 off the bench. Senior guard Chris McNicols finished with eight, followed by junior guard Donte Logan (6) and junior forward Patrick O’Connor (5).  

Junior forward Paul Solka contributed nicely off the bench for Maine West with six points, including four in the second quarter.