Lower Merion High School Wins Emotional First Basketball Game Following Kobe Bryant's Tragic Death
UPPER DARBY, Pa (CBS) -- It was an emotional night for the Lower Merion High School boys basketball team as they returned to the court for the first time since Kobe Bryant's death. This is a loss the world will not forget and those who came out to Tuesday's game are still trying to comprehend that one of the greatest players in basketball is really gone.
But on Tuesday night, Lower Merion came to play.
"We all looked up to him. He played a great role in this generation," Abdoul Doumbia said
Hearts are still heavy as the world continues to mourn the loss of the basketball legend.
Bryant's NBA career took off straight out of Lower Merion High School.
On Tuesday night, his alma mater had its first game since his untimely death. The varsity boys team faced off against Upper Darby.
"From what I know, they're pulling together and this is actually going to make them stronger. They got together Sunday night and after they heard the news as a team, they really wanted to be there to support their coach," Wynnewood resident Kim Gholston said.
Before tipoff, Upper Darby High School honored one of the greatest basketball players of all time with a 33-second moment of silence in honor of Bryant's No. 33 that he wore at Lower Merion.
As the world grieves the loss of an icon, still the game must go on.
Grieving is a process but for these athletes, they don't quit, they don't cower, and they don't run. They endure and conquer because that's the mamba mentality.
"He showed everyone how to work hard and how to succeed and be relentless in whatever you do," Doumbia said.
Lower Merion came out on top, 48-44.