Fennville's boys basketball season and the spirit of its fallen leader
Wes Leonard lives on.
Playing before 3,177 fans and a national media audience at DeVos Fieldhouse on the campus of Hope College in Holland,
Fennville (Mich.) won its second straight District Class C basketball game 79-50 over Bangor Wednesday night.
It was Fennville's fourth win over Bangor this season.
According to various reports, Xavier Grigg, Wes' replacement in
the starting lineup, scored 25 points on Wednesday and made four
3-pointers. Fennville made 13-of-24 3-pointers for the game.
Fennville has caught the nation's attention since the passing of Wes, who collapsed after making a game-winning shot on March 3 against Bridgman. He was rushed to a local hospital but died due to
cardiac arrest because of an enlarged heart.
With Wednesday's victory, Fennville improved to 22-0 and is ranked fourth in Class C. The team,
which opened the playoffs with a 65-54 win over Lawrence on Monday, now plays in Friday's district final also at DeVos Fieldhouse. Fennville will play the winner of Bloomingdale versus Covert.
Wes, 16, was the team's leading basketball scorer, star quarterback on the football team and an extremely popular figure on campus. An outpouring of love and support nation wide has spread to the small Western Michigan town and Fennville campus.
Wes' funeral was on Tuesday and the town of almost 1,500 all but shut down. Approximately 2,000 attended the service.
There, Jim Leonard, Wes' uncle, was one of many who shared warm and fond stories of the athletic and outdoorsy teen.
"It's just amazing that the world has come to know how special he was," Jim Leonard said. "His legacy in Fennville and in West
Michigan will live forever."
File Getty Images
Fennville's team before Monday's first-round win over Leonard.