Leufroy, Crawford receive All-Mission League honors

When called upon, Kyle Leufroy and Evan Crawford often came through for the St. Francis High basketball team during its historic season.

From clutch fourth-quarter shooting to grabbing a rebound, Leufroy and Crawford proved to be big pieces of the puzzle in helping the Golden Knights advance to the CIF Southern Section Division III-A championship game and the second round of the CIF State Division III tournament.

Leufroy and Crawford also proved to be among a group of the high-profile group that also excelled in the rugged Mission League.

For their respective bodies of work, Leufroy and Crawford received all-league recognition, as voted on by the league’s seven coaches.

Leufroy, a junior guard, earned a spot on the first team for the second season in a row. Crawford, a senior forward, was named to the second team. St. Francis finished 20-13 and 4-8 in league to tie for fifth place with Harvard-Westlake.

Leufroy and Crawford normally set the tone throughout the season for the Golden Knights, who are coached by Ray O’Brien and Jeff Stephens.

“They were both vital in the team having a great season,” O’Brien said. “They both brought a lot of skill and hard work to the team.

“You look at our league and there are a lot of great players throughout. You have to be at the top of your game to get there.”

Leufroy and Crawford certainly were for St. Francis.

Leufroy, a reigning All-Area second-team honoree, averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and four assists per contest.

Crawford averaged 10.5 points, nine rebounds and four assists per game.

“With Kyle, he went out there and really improved himself in a lot of areas,” O’Brien said. “There was a lot more all-around consistency with his game and he knew how to take and make the big shot late in a game. Last year, maybe everybody didn’t know him. This year, he was an identified threat. When you scouted him, you knew he was our go-to guy and would save his best for last.

“Evan did a lot of things very well, too. It starts with his work ethic, which is second to none. He finished up the season strong, was one of our best rebounders and he had some of the most difficult assignments. The loss of Evan [to graduation] will be hard to quantify. It’s going to be almost impossible to replace him.”