Solis, Maine West enjoy late-season roll

Tommy Solis had a big smile and a bounce in his step as he ran to the bench in the final minute Tuesday night.

There haven't been a lot of scenes like this for the Maine West boys basketball team until the last five days.

The Warriors (7-17) extended their winning streak to three games with a 47-37 nonconference victory over Leyden (10-12) at Farina Field House in Franklin Park.

"For us seniors, this is the last time some of us will put a uniform on and play for a name on the front," the 6-foot-7 Solis said after scoring all 14 of his points in the second half and grabbing 12 rebounds. "We didn't want to go out (like we were playing).

"We still think we're capable of more. You've got to start somewhere."

Senior Alex Seiler got the Warriors started with a pair of 3-pointers in the first 31/2 minutes as they never trailed. He scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half.

"The one thing we've been missing is a guy to get us through some droughts and tough stretches," Maine West coach Erik McNeill said of Seiler scoring in double figures for the third straight game.

Then Solis took over after halftime against a Leyden team with no starter taller than 6-2. He hit a turnaround 15-footer on Maine West's first possession after missing his first 3 shots.

"In the first half I played terrible and I was extremely disappointed in myself," Solis said. "I went up to the locker room and sat down and realized I needed to get in this game for us to take control completely."

Solis capped his third straight double-figure scoring game with the first 8 points of the fourth quarter. He capped a 12-2 burst with a tip-in and 2 free throws when he was fouled after a blocked shot, rebound and coast-to-coast drive.

"The seniors haven't given up," McNeill said of a starting lineup that includes Ryan Tuntland, Sebastian Stasiakiewicz and Nate Andersen. "Tommy is starting to play the way we kind of expected him to play.

"The guys are doing a nice job of trying to get him the ball a lot more."

For the second straight game Leyden couldn't get the ball in the hoop from outside.

Mike Woolf had 21 points and hit four 3-pointers, but the Eagles were 5-for-31 behind the arc and shot 24.5 percent overall (13-for-53). Alex Regalado, who averages 18.6 points, was held to 6 on 3-for-10 shooting.

"I thought we were getting good shots (against the zone)," said Leyden coach Bill Heisler, "but I thought we were really slow and stagnant on offense. Tonight we looked very robotic."