Peterson, who played basketball on Collingswood's championship team last season, was visiting his grandmother in Atlantic City last weekend and looking for summer jobs, Vaughn Peterson Sr. said. He was still deciding whether he wanted to go to one of the several colleges that had sent him acceptance letters.

To Peterson's family, the pain of his death is heightened by the mystery surrounding it. His father said he believed his son had been in a fight just before his death, but police have not confirmed that.

Peterson was found shortly before 1 a.m. Monday about two blocks from his grandmother's house. He was unconscious, witnesses said, and died shortly afterward.

An autopsy failed to confirm the cause, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office. Authorities are waiting until they have the results of toxicology tests before they release any more information.

"At this point, it's an open and active death investigation," said Madelaine Vitale, a spokeswoman for the Prosecutor's Office, who said it may be weeks before the tests are complete.

Peterson grew up in Newtonville, Atlantic County, where he lived primarily with his mother, Terri Lynn Peterson, and attended Buena Regional High School for three years. For his senior year he moved in with his father in Woodlynne and transferred to Collingswood High, where he played as a guard. The team won the South Jersey Group 2 title.

"He always cracked jokes and made people laugh," his father said. "For the short time that he was at this school, he made so many friends. Everyone just liked him."

His son was not a troublemaker, he said, adding that Peterson was responsible and popular among girls for his sharp fashion sense.

"Vaughn, he was my man. I could depend on him for anything," his father said. "The only thing he had a problem with was those girls. He was a real ladies' man."

In the days since Peterson's death, his father has spent time in the Metropolitan Avenue neighborhood where he was found. Neighbors have told him that Peterson was knocked unconscious by a man who hit him on the head. Authorities would not comment on whether they were seeking anyone for questioning.

Peterson's funeral will begin at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Shiloh Temple, 505 Madison Ave., Atlantic City, where friends may call after 9 a.m.