"Play for Peace'' was the theme of a community basketball game Friday night between members of the Erie Crossover Basketball Program and the Erie Bureau of Police and others from law enforcement.

The Erie Crossover team, a Christian-centered program, featured 15 players -- boys and girls -- ages 10 through 17.

Youth prevailed, as the Erie Crossover Team rolled to a 93-65 victory before an estimated crowd of 250 at Gannon University's Hammermill Center.

Montrel Burns, 16, a member of the Erie Crossover team, dedicated his performance to Elijah Jackson and Shakur Franklin, two 16-year-old friends who were shot to death July 24 while attending a party in the 200 block of West 29th Street in Erie.

"I lost a couple of friends this summer to violence,'' Burns, a junior at the Perseus House Charter School of Excellence, said before the game. "I loved my friends and I'm just going to give this game to them. Elijah was playing on my basketball team. It's still a game and we're going to have fun and, hopefully, we take the victory.''

Friday's game was the opening event of the Booker T. Washington Center's Erie Reunited Weekend, which includes a free community picnic today from noon to 5 p.m. at the center, 1720 Holland St.

Organizers said Friday's basketball game was designed to improve relationships between the Erie community and the Erie police.

"I'm here to support the whole operation,'' Police Chief Randy Bowers said. "Any time you get police officers interacting with young people, it's a plus.''

The game's chief organizer was Cory Coleman, chairman of the Keystone Athletic Development Organization, which runs the Erie Crossover basketball program.

"This won't solve the violence, but what we look to do is to improve relations between our young people and the police department,'' Coleman said.

"If they can recognize our kids and see them and call them by name, and know their parents, then that will build more trust in the community, which is what Erie is. It's a big family and we need to get back to that, and it's going to start with our young people,'' he said.

RON LEONARDI can be reached at 870-1680 or by e-mail.