Wesleyan struggles to cope - Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

It was anything but business as usual at a somber Woodward Health & Recreation Center on Friday afternoon at Kentucky Wesleyan College, less than 24 hours after the death of Southern Indiana basketball player Jeron Lewis.

Lewis died after collapsing on the Sportscenter court during USI's 74-69 victory over the Panthers on Thursday night. The State Medical Examiner's office in Madisonville released a report Friday confirming that the Screaming Eagles' senior center died of natural causes stemming from a pre-existing heart condition.

The Panthers, meanwhile, struggled to cope with the tragedy as they attempted to somehow prepare for today's Great Lakes Valley Conference game against visiting Illinois-Springfield.

"You go through a lot of emotions at different times during the day," KWC coach Todd Lee said. "It's a disturbing situation for a lot of reasons.

"You think of Jeron, you think of his family, you think of USI's team, you think of our team. It's a traumatic situation that could change people's lives. It's certainly a tragedy none of us will ever forget."

Lee also witnessed the death of Loyola-Marymount star Hank Gathers two decades ago, when Lee was an assistant coach at the University of San Diego.

"Twenty years ago March 4," Lee said, recalling the date of the Gathers' tragedy without looking it up. "Some things you just don't forget."

The Panthers held an hour-long mid-afternoon team meeting Friday to discuss coping with the Lewis tragedy. In addition to players and coaches, the meeting included the Rev. Kent Lewis, KWC's campus minister; Rusty Tichenor, director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes' Northwest Kentucky region; athletic director Gary Gallup; associate AD Glenn Young; and athletic trainer Bridget Muniz.

"People react differently in situations like this," Lee said. "We had guys crying and very upset. We had guys in there who were very quiet the entire time.

"We said some prayers, and we talked about counseling being available for anyone who needs it -- and we'll revisit that later. The truth is, we're dealing with this moment by moment. There are no easy answers -- all of us are searching in terms of how to best deal with it."

Lee said the tragedy is the ultimate test of being a team.

"With something of this magnitude, it's essential that we all be there for one another," Lee said. "We need to be looking out for one another. I mean, there's no right or wrong way to feel. Each individual is going to deal with it different than the next, but it's vital that we get through this together."

Wesleyan senior guard Desmond Stephens turned to his family with a phone call to Bloomington, Ind.

"I didn't get any sleep last night -- I'm still having a hard time with it," Stephens said. "I got on the phone to my mom and dad and little sister and told 'em that I loved them. When you see life taken away like that, it makes you appreciate your own life and those around you more -- much more.

"I really feel for the entire USI community. As bad as it is here, the pain is a whole lot worse over there. I feel for their team. I can't even imagine what they must be going through."

KWC junior center Jay Ivey also was struggling in the tragedy's aftermath.

"I'm in shock, I'm confused," Ivey said. "It's kind of a process we're all going through over here (at KWC), but they're going through so much more with the Lewis family over at USI. All we can do is pray, keep them in our thoughts and do anything we can to help them."

Lee is hopeful that getting back on the court will prove therapeutic for his team, but such hope is tempered with caution.

"I don't know how our team will react -- I really don't know about that," Lee said. "You'd like to hope that it will be good for us, but we're not going to know until we actually step back on the (Sportscenter) court.

"I mean, we just got through playing against Jeron -- he fell 10, 15 feet in front of our guys. Like I said, it's difficult and disturbing. Again, it's moment by moment. That's the only way this kind of thing works."

* KWC will observe a moment of silence in honor of Lewis before today's game.

* Wesleyan is encouraging Panther fans to wear red clothing to today's game in honor of Lewis.

* KWC players will wear red shooting shirts bearing Lewis' No. 40 during today's pregame warmups and will do the same on Feb. 15 when the Panthers make a return trip to USI.

* Wesleyan held a campus-wide memorial service for Lewis at noon Friday at Tapscott Chapel.

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