BATON ROUGE, La. -- On a rain-soaked Saturday night at Tiger Stadium, LSU held a moment of silence before its game against Ole Miss to honor basketball player Wayde Sims, who was shot to death one day earlier.
"LSU mourns the loss of one of our own," LSU public-address announcer Dan Borne said. "He will be missed by us all."
For several moments, all that could be heard was the hum of a helicopter overhead.
Borne also changed his normal introduction of "It's Saturday Night in Death Valley" to "It's Saturday Night in Tiger Stadium."
In addition, "Wayde 44" was seen in several spots inside the stadium, including a decal on every placard inside the press box. (Sims' uniform number was 44.) A group of LSU students painted their bodies to spell out "#Forever44."
This is for Wayde pic.twitter.com/ON53yIMhnI
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) September 30, 2018
A moment to remember Wayde Sims pic.twitter.com/kvg3jxtLhd
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) September 30, 2018
Sims, who grew up near campus and followed his father's footsteps to play basketball at LSU, suffered a fatal gunshot wound during an altercation outside a Subway restaurant early Friday morning. He was 20.
Sims was a friend to several players on the football team, many of whom dedicated Saturday's 45-16 win over Ole Miss to him.
LSU football coach Ed Orgeron, who called the news of Sims' death shocking, said it was addressed as a team Friday, praying for him and his family.
"It was very difficult," linebacker Devin White said. "You know that was a close friend to everybody on the team. We prayed for him as a team, we prayed for his family. ... I think we represented him well. A lot of us had his number of our face and arms."
Cornerback Greedy Williams was one of the many players who honored Sims during the game, writing Sims' name on his cleats.
"Wayde, a best friend," Williams said. "When I first came to LSU he was probably one of the first people I met. Showed me around Baton Rouge. A great kid. I had his name on my cleats this game. This was big for me. I gave my all for him."
At a news conference Friday, stunned school administration members gathered and spoke of their grief. LSU athletic director Joe Alleva said it was perhaps "the saddest day I've ever experienced in my career."
LSU basketball coach Will Wade described the 6-foot-6 forward Sims as an "unbelievable person."
"Anybody he came in contact with, automatically just loved him, loved his personality," Wade said. "He was just a blast to be around at all times."
Baton Rouge Police announced Saturday that they had arrested Dyteon Simpson, 20, and charged him with second-degree murder.
Police said Simpson dropped his glasses during an altercation early Friday morning involving Sims. The glasses were tested for DNA, helping police to arrest Simpson.