The smile on Jaedn Harrison’s face told a great story.

The Cheyenne Mountain basketball player and his teammates had just recorded a thrilling come-from-behind 65-61 victory over Air Academy Jan. 16 in what was an emotional night for Indians players and coaches, as well as Cheyenne Mountain students, teachers, administrators and staff.

Just four days earlier, teammate Kendall Robinson died, sending shockwaves through the school. His teammates decided to play on, rather than postpone games.

“It was hard work out there because we were losing early, but we came back for Kendall,” Harrison said. “We picked up our defense and played better in the second half for him. Once we got the lead for good we weren’t going to lose it.”

The game was the Indians’ second since the tragedy. On Jan. 14, they defeated Sand Creek, 81-79.

It was Harrison, a senior, who convinced his mother, Brandie, to make team T-shirts that he designed. His colorful design had the words: “Just Be Nice” on the front. The back read: “RIP Kendall.”

“These shirts are to bring awareness to Kendall,” Harrison said. “Kendall really loved basketball, so we’re trying to enjoy it for him.”

About an hour before the game, Harrison handed out the shirts to his varsity teammates and coaching staff. The team donned them during warm ups.

The last person announced during starting lineups was Robinson. The overflow crowd gave a standing ovation that lasted more than a minute.

There was also a unique beginning to the game. An arrangement was agreed upon by Air Academy and the referees that Cheyenne Mountain would begin the game with four players on the court. Indians junior Javonte Johnson won the jump at center court and tapped the ball to teammate Nicholas Bassett, who dribbled for a few seconds and the rolled the ball out of bounds. Jackson Bailey then joined his teammates on the court as Cheyenne Mountain’s fifth man.

Most of the Cheyenne Mountain players wore yellow shoelaces. Yellow is the color for suicide awareness.

Cheyenne Mountain (12-2) was down 19-4 late in the first quarter and appeared out of sync. But the Indians ended the quarter on a 6-0 run, and scored the first four points of the second quarter to pull within 19-14.

Johnson gave Cheyenne Mountain its first lead, 41-40, with 1:57 remaining in the third on a pair of free throws.

The score was tied 49-49 early in the fourth when Johnson drained a 3-pointer to give the Indians a lead they would never surrender.

“This (victory) was a must,” Johnson said. “This game was meant for (Kendall), so we had to win it for him.”

The Indians ended the night by taking a team photo with Robinson’s oversized team basketball picture near their bench.

“We’ll probably continue to do this the rest of the season at all of our home games, and we may even take it on the road,” said Cheyenne Mountain coach Elgin Fitzgerald. “We want to continue to honor Kendall as long as we can. While the pain’s not going to fully go away, he will always be with us in spirit, and that’s helpful for our spirits as well.”

Fitzgerald, along with Cheyenne Mountain athletic director Kris Roberts and most of the school’s staff, addressed the issue of Robinson’s death head on and with raw emotion.

“This is not easy,” Fitzgerald said. “Just being open and honest with the team and telling them how I feel. And making sure that they know it’s OK for them to feel the way that they feel. Looking back and smiling at all the awesome memories we have of Kendall makes it a little easier.”

Roberts said the school has been proactive in helping the Cheyenne Mountain students and staff deal with the tragedy. Mental health professionals have been on hand during school hours, as well as therapy dogs.

“This is a real fragile time and there’s a whole lot of looking for reasons and seeking to understand,” Roberts said. “My focus has been on Kendall and grieving.

“Kendall was kind to people. He said ‘hello’ to people. He made everybody’s day better. Those are things we all can do a little more.”

The Cheyenne Mountain girls played what was arguably their best game of the season prior to the boys’ affair. The Indians lost to undefeated Air Academy, the states No. 1 ranked Class 4A team, 49-43.

“Kendall was a part of our program as well,” said senior Macy Feign. “He was always at the end of the bench smiling and laughing, and he was always there to bring spirits up.

“He’ll always be on the court with us. He will always be there smiling.”

Junior Selena Vargas said the team played with a heavy heart.

“We were still in shock and playing the game was part of the process,” she said. “We definitely played for Kendall. We were there for each other as much as we could.”

Senior Summer Levis said she will make it a greater priority to reach out to classmates.

“We had this happen earlier this year (at our school) to a freshman, but it wasn’t until what happened with Kendall that people realized there are problems in our school,” Levis said. “We just want people to know that if they are having problems there is always someone they can talk with.”

The next game for the Cheyenne Mountain boys is Wednesday at Lewis-Palmer.

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