Fennville High basketball players stand together during the national anthem before their game against Lawrence in the Michigan state tournament Monday. Fennville forward Wes Leonard collapsed Thursday after making a game-winning shot and later died.

HOLLAND, Mich. — 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 today 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 only 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 gold.

PITTSBURGH — Former Steelers safety and cornerback Carnell Lake was hired as Pittsburgh's new defensive backs coach, the team announced Monday.Lake retired from the NFL in 2001 following two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars (1999-00) and one with the Baltimore Ravens (2001). He played for the Steelers from 1989-98.

BRADENTON, Fla. — David Price pitched four innings and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Pirates 4-2 on Monday.Price allowed one run and three hits in Tampa Bay's first victory since beating the Pirates in its spring opener on Feb. 26.Ross Ohlendorf pitched three innings for Pittsburgh, yielding one run and three hits. Matt Diaz hit a two-run homer.

FREEPORT — Eleven members of the Freeport football team were selected to the Pennsylvania Football News All-Academic team.Jake Campbell was one of 108 seniors with a grade-point average between 3.5 and 3.7. Derek Durand, Tyler Holbein and Shawn Liberto were three of 151 seniors with a GPA between 3.0 and 3.4.Alex Carson, Sean Carson and Jon Turner were three of 69 juniors and Brendan Lynch one of 38 sophomores with a GPA between 3.8 and 4.0.Damon Smith, Alec Stivers and Brian Welsh were three of 63 sophomores with a GPA between 3.0 and 3.4.

BALD EAGLE — Special Olympics Pennsylvania Butler County earned medals at the annual state floor hockey tournament over the weekend.Paul Hoolahan and Amber Morrison took firsts in individual skills with Erma McCollough finishing second, Mikie McNeish fourth, Charles Sigmund fifth and Shaun Kuntz sixth.Butler County won the silver medal in team competition. Team members were Carla Steffy, Nicole McKinnis, Bobbie Schetter, Ben Bennett, Haley Spohn, Tom Hastings, Brian Reinhart, Valerie Stiffy, Alex Weber, Austin Sellner, Tod Johnson, Don Mohn, Clint Atkinson, Jacki Able, Dan Harlan, Melissa McKinnis and James Caldwell.

SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock University received a block of 150 tickets for the opening round of the Division II Men's Basketball Tournament.The eighth-seeded Rock (21-10) plays top-seeded and host West Liberty (W.Va.) (29-0) at 6 p.m. Saturday. Tickets must be reserved by 10 a.m. Wednesday or they will be released to the general public.Individual session tickets, which include two games, are $12 for adults, $6 for students. Tickets for two sessions, covering four games, are $20. A $35 regional ticket allows entry into all four sessions.Call Betsy Strawbridge at 724-738-4280 to reserve tickets.

ERIE — The Portersville Christian School girls basketball team dropped a 48-36 decision to Atlantic Christian (N.J.) in the NCSAA Division 2 National Tournament over the weekend.Mary McDonald had 16 points, seven rebounds and five steals for the Warriors.Portersville had defeated Cumberland Valley Christian (Pa.) 51-24. McDonald had 20 points, nine rebounds and five steals, then beat Elkton Christian (Md.) 40-26 as McDonald had 24 points, 13 rebounds and two steals.

NEW YORK — Syracuse senior forward Rick Jackson was selected Big East defensive player of the year, while St. John's senior guard Dwight Hardy is the conference's most improved player.St. John's senior Justin Burrell was chosen as the top sixth man Monday in a vote of the league's coaches.Pitt senior Brad Wanamaker was picked for the sportsmanship award.The winners of the Big East player and coach of the year awards will be announced today in New York.

The Freeport High hockey team (7-14-1) dropped a 5-3 decision to Central Valley in the first round of the PIHL Class A playoffs Monday night. No details were available.