March Madness: Wayne grad MVP of NEC tourney, NCAA tournament bound

Wayne senior Juan Cranford Jr. tries to get to the basket Sunday against Cincinnati Elder in a Division I district final at Cintas Center. Jeff Gilbert/CONTRIBUTED

Wayne senior Juan Cranford Jr. tries to get to the basket Sunday against Cincinnati Elder in a Division I district final at Cintas Center. Jeff Gilbert/CONTRIBUTED

At least one local grad is going dancing when the NCAA Tournament starts later this month.

Wayne High School graduate Juan Cranford Jr. scored 14 points to lead Saint Francis (Pa.) to victory in the championship game of the Northeast Conference tournament Tuesday night.

That earned the Red Flash an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament next week.

They last played in the Big Dance in 1991.

A 6-foot-3, 205-pound guard, Crawford was named NEC Rookie of the Year after leading the conference’s first-year players in scoring (9.5 ppg.) and assists (59). He ranked second in field goal percentage (45.2) and steals (31), third in 3-point percentage (37.4), third in 3-pointers made (1.54) and fourth in minutes played (27.3).

Last season, Cranford was the GWOC Player of the Year and an honorable mention all-state selection when he averaged 16.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

Cranford may be playing in front of friends and family when the postseason resumes for him next week.

At 16-17, the Red Flash are likely to be a No. 16 seed, which makes them a candidate to be part of the First Four next week in Dayton.

The brackets will be released Sunday on CBS.

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