HOLLAND, Mich. (AP) — In the end, it was a game that west
Michigan’s Fennville High basketball players knew their fallen teammate
would have been proud of.
The Fennville Blackhawks paid tribute
Monday night to 16-year-old Wes Leonard on the eve of his funeral by
continuing the undefeated season that Leonard had saved when he hit the
game-winning shot last week before collapsing and dying.
Now the
small community near Lake Michigan will come together again Tuesday to
remember the 6-foot-2, 215-pound teenager known for his athletic prowess
in basketball and football before he died from a heart ailment.
"I
think he was watching down on us," Fennville coach Ryan Klingler said
after Monday night’s 65-54 win over Lawrence in an emotional first-round
state tournament game before a crowd of 3,500. "This is a game he’d
have liked."
Leonard’s absence overshadowed the game, which was
moved from Lawrence to Hope College in Holland to accommodate a larger
crowd. After the final buzzer sounded, his teammates hugged and cried.
In
tribute to Leonard, Fennville sent just four players onto the court
before the opening tip. The fifth player took the court after a dramatic
pause to wild cheering from the crowd.
Some players flashed
Leonard’s jersey number, "35" — holding up three fingers on one hand and
five on the other — at moments before and during the game. Fans held up
signs with such phrases as "We love Wes" or had his number painted on
their faces in the team’s colors, black and orange.
During pregame
warm-ups, players from both teams wore black T-shirts with Leonard’s
name and number on the back and the phrase "Never Forgotten" on the
front. Players also wore black wristbands with Leonard’s initials on
them.
The first standing ovation came as Fennville players
stoically walked onto the court for pregame warm-ups, joined by
Leonard’s younger brother, Mitchell. The crowd again came to its feet
and clapped as more members of the Leonard family, including his
parents, entered DeVos Fieldhouse.
A moment of silence was held for Leonard, who also was the quarterback on the school’s football team.
The late player’s uncle, Jim Leonard, said the family is overwhelmed at the support it’s received.
A
large crowd, including more than 100 family members from out-of-state,
is expected for Leonard’s Tuesday morning funeral at Christ Memorial
Church in Holland. The service is expected to last up to two hours.
Fennville is a town of about 1,400, but the school district covers a broader area in southwest Michigan
near Lake Michigan.
Monday’s
game was the first for Fennville since Thursday, when Leonard made the
game-winning basket in overtime on his home court against Bridgman to
cap an undefeated regular season at 20-0. Teams shook hands after the
game and Leonard was lifted off the floor in celebration, a wide grin on
his face.
Seconds later, he fell to the court, stunning a crowd
estimated at more than 1,400. Leonard was rushed to a hospital where he
was pronounced dead. An autopsy by the Ottawa County medical examiner
showed Leonard died of cardiac arrest due to an enlarged heart.
Fennville’s second Class C district game is scheduled for Wednesday.
Fennville’s
decision to play Monday came after school officials talked to Leonard’s
family. While some fans and school officials had talked before the game
about how it wouldn’t really matter who won, Fennville players didn’t
seem to have that attitude — rallying to victory after falling behind
early.
"Wes would have wanted to win," said Adam Siegel, a teammate of Leonard’s. "I wanted to
win. … It felt good to win for him."
