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Conant closes out Hoffman Estates

Conant finally found a way to win a close one.

The Cougars, who had heartbreaking losses to Fremd and Barrington, held off a late charge by host Hoffman Estates on Friday and topped the Hawks 60-55.

Chris Dolce started things off strong for the Cougars and Jimmy Sotos had his best game in his first varsity career as Conant (4-5, 1-2) picked up its first MSL West victory.

"We have been in a lot of close games," Conant coach Tom McCormack said. "And we have ended up being on the other side against some really good teams. It was nice to finish tonight."

Conant appeared to have the game in hand when Jordan Hughes hit a basket off a pass from Kyle Bradley to make it 38-26 with 4:39 left in the third quarter.

Hoffman Estates (2-5, 0-3) which had been in nearly identical situations against Schaumburg and Barrington, began to chip away. Behind Jorden Thornton, Brandon Hall and Robert Jacobs, the Hawks scored 8 unanswered points on their way to 15-4 run to close to 42-41 with 7:03 to play.

Hoffman Estates was able to tie the game twice from there but could never get over the hump.

The first time came with 5:31 when Dante Cleveland, who had been in foul trouble most of the night, hit a 3-point basket to tie the game at 44. After Conant pulled ahead, Hoffman tied it again at 49 with 3:05 to play on a free throw by Thorton.

But Conant's Chris Dolce and Jimmy Sotos, who had put the hurt on the Hawks earlier, finished them off.

Dolce, who led Conant with 19 points, hit a three, to put the Cougars up for good. After a basket by Cleveland that had Hoffman close to 54-53 with 2:25 to play, Dolce hit a jumper and Sotos had a driving layup to make it 56-51 with 1:13 to play and Hoffman was never closer than 3 from there.

"It was nice to see our guys gut it out," Conant coach Tom McCormack said. "It looked like we were about to put it away in the third quarter. Their subs did a nice job to get them back in the game .

"But we executed in the end. We got some stops and made our free throws."

Dolce got the Cougars of to a fast start, scoring the first 7 points for Conant as his team built a 13-8 lead after the first quarter.

"Coach was telling me that that I needed a jump-stop," Dolce said. "And I knew the were lanes to drive. I Ben kind of struggling and I wanted to come out fast."

Dolce continued to spark Conant, hitting a pair of baskets as the Cougars opened up a 19-9 advantage with 6:30 to play in the first half. Dolce picked up his second foul and went to the bench and that's when Sotos began to shine.

The sophomore, who is generously listed as 5-foot-9, drove, shot and passed his way to 11 points and two assists from there. His play picked up the pace Conant as they grabbed a 32-22 lead at the break.

"Coach gave us a game plan and we executed it," said Sotos, who finished with a career-best 16 points along with 7 assists.

"I saw that some if our seniors were in foul trouble and I knew I had to keep our team going. So I knew I had to contribute the best I could and that was with points."

Sotos' older brother Danny, who is a senior, finished with 10 points while Hughes had 9 points to go with 6 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Hoffman Estates coach Luke Yanule said that his team's slow start, where they turned the ball over 7 times, got his team into a deep hole.

"The only way to get out of a hole is to stop digging," Yanule said. "This is the third conference game in a row where we fell behind and clawed back. Our team will learn and get better. They have tremendous character."

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