THE lives of four University of Essex students who died in a car crash on Colchester's Magdalen Street at the start of the month have been celebrated at a memorial basketball game.

Remembered - Players wore t-shirts of remembrance to today's game (Image: Steve Brading)The event commemorated students Daljang 'DJ' Wol, 22, TJ Hibbert, 24, Eva Darold-Tchikaya, 21, and Makyle Bayley, 22, who died on Saturday February 1.

Rebels basketball teams played across two games, with a women's game against Manchester and a men's game against the Newcastle Knights.

Students - Anthony 'TJ' Hibbert, Eva Darold-Tchikaya, Daljang 'DJ' Wol, and Makyle Bayley (Image: Essex Police) A 24-second applause was held at the tip-off of both games.

Both DJ and TJ were much-loved members of the Essex Rebels Division One Men’s basketball team.

Celebrated - The lives of the four young crash victims were celebrated at the game (Image: Steve Brading) Eva was an active member of the Essex Blades Dance Club while Makyle was also a talented basketball player and a member of the Essex's British Universities and Colleges Sport basketball team.

A statement posted to Facebook by the Essex Rebels said: "Today we are celebrating the lives of DJ, TJ, Makyke and Eva, beloved members of the Rebels family, with a Memorial Gameday."

Tragic - Dave Parry, University of Essex's director of sport at the game (Image: Steve Brading) A funeral for DJ was also held today, with the University of Essex's flag flying at half-mast.

The four University of Essex students died after a car they were travelling in careered into a building on Colchester's Magdalene Street at around 4.40am on Saturday February 4.

At an inquest held days after the tragic accident, Senior coroner Lincoln Brookes offered his condolences to the families of the University of Essex students, and said: "Sadly and very tragically all four individuals died together."

Emotional - An applause was held a each tip-off in the game (Image: Steve Brading) In a statement released ahead of today's memorial game, a spokesperson for the club said: "The past week has been incredibly difficult for everyone in the Essex Rebels family.

“Our priority has been the wellbeing of our players, staff, and those most affected by the tragic loss of DJ, TJ, Eva, and Makyle.

“As a club, we have been fully supportive of our players, and the decision on whether to continue the season was theirs to make.

“After deep reflection, they have chosen to play on in honour of their teammates.

“We will do everything in our power to honour their legacies and make them proud. The remainder of this season is for them.”