Dokubo’s steal cements Conant win
Conant boys coach Tom McCormack calls senior guard London Dokubo “one of the best defensive players I’ve had at Conant.”
Dokubo made his coach proud as he stole the ball and scored on a layup with 54 seconds left in Conant’s 80-73 Mid-Suburban League West Division victory over visting Palatine on Friday night.
The turnover, which was the first of the quarter for the Pirates (9-14, 3-6), gave the Cougars a 78-73 lead.
Dylan Bartuch, who led the Cougars with 26 points, scored following another Palatine turnover with 28 seconds left to account for the final score.
The win enabled Conant (15-7, 6-3) to move into a four-way tie for first place in the MSL West.
“London can-flat out guard the ball,” McCormack said. “He has that fifth and sixth gear. I think he wanted to make up for the missed free throw (with 1:17 left). I could see the concentration in his face and then he gets the steal.”
“I pride myself in defense,” said Dokubo, who had 9 points and 4 steals. “Defense has always come naturally to me. When I got the steal, I saw that two players were going to try to screen me. I slipped around them and I was right in the passing lane to get the steal.”
After a 22-22 first quarter, the Pirates led 35-29 with 3:30 left in the first half. Conant rallied with a 10-0 run keyed by 3 baskets from reserve George Pessimisis — who finished with 14 points.
Conant led 44-40 at the break.
Palatine forged ahead 64-63 after three quarters, with Egan Malley (8 points) hitting 2 free throws with 18 seconds left in the quarter.
The Pirates broke a 67-67 tie on a basket by Tom Hauert (8 points, 8 rebounds) and 2 free throws by Peter Bony (17 points) to take a 71-67 lead with 5:28 remaining.
Cougars reserve Kyle Lee (9 points) tied the game on back-to-back baskets. Lee put Conant ahead for good at 74-71 on a 3-point play with 3:48 left in the contest.
“Pessimisis and Lee just did a great job for us,” McCormack said. “We had to win this one to stay in the race. If we don’t win, it doesn’t matter what the other teams did tonight.”
“I thought our kids did a real nice job on offense,” said Pirates coach Eric Millstone. “Late in the game, though, Conant came up with defensive stops on us. That’s what it came down to.”