Basketball Recap: Dynamic Duo of Dylan Franklin and Lebron Mckelvy Lead Crandall to Victory

Crandall proved they can win big last Friday (they won by 23) and on Tuesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Ennis Lions 60-58. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Pirates have posted against the Lions since November 12, 2021.

Lebron Mckelvy

Steals

01/24/25 vs Midlothian Heritage	4
01/21/25 @ Terrell	4
01/17/25 @ Ennis	4
01/14/25 vs Corsicana	4
12/17/24 vs Terrell	4
+ 17 more games

Crandall was led to victory by Lebron Mckelvy and Dylan Franklin. Mckelvy went 11-for-17 en route to 26 points and three steals, while Franklin posted 17 points. Mckelvy has become a key player for Crandall: the team is 8-2 when he posts at least three steals, but 7-14 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Edison Umeh, who scored six points and five blocks.

Ennis' defeat came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Michael Ponce, who went 5-for-8 to rack up 15 points and five assists. Those five assists gave Ponce a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Clifford Gigante, who went 6-for-7 on his way to 13 points and six boards.

Crandall has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a massive bump to their 15-16 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.7 points over those games. As for Ennis, their loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 15-19.

As of now, neither Crandall nor Ennis have any future games scheduled.