Ex-757 star extends UVA walk-on run of late heroics
John Paul Jones Arena erupted last Saturday night when Virginia senior forward Tristan How sank a step-back jumper with 14 seconds left in the Cavaliers’ 72-57 win over Georgia Tech in their regular-season finale.
The UVA faithful have come to expect such theatrics. How, a Virginia Beach native, became the latest Cavaliers walk-on to bury a basket in the closing seconds of a Senior Night win. How joined the likes of Norfolk native Chase Coleman in 2023, Caid Kirven in 2016 and Thomas Rogers in 2014 to accomplish the feat.
“It’s uncanny, I guess is the right word, for Tristan to make that shot,” UVA coach Tony Bennett said. “We can go all the way back to Thomas Rogers. I mean, the list goes on. That was a heck of a little fallaway. The guy bodied him.”
It was How’s third field goal of the season. The Norfolk Collegiate product has seen action in nine games, scoring six points and logging two rebounds and an assist. He played in four games last year, posting three points and seven rebounds.
“That was special,” Cavaliers senior point guard Reece Beekman said. “The amount of time and work Trist puts in, it goes unseen, but I see him late night sometimes after practice getting shots up. For him to have that special moment on this special day, it just means the world.
“This is two years in a row. Chase was last year and then Tristan this year, so I just love that they get the opportunity to play in their last game here.”
Hokies would welcome NIT invite:
Virginia Tech (18-14) will miss the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season, but it is in the running for a return trip to the National Invitation Tournament.
Hokies coach Mike Young said after his team’s 86-76 loss to Florida State in the ACC Tournament on Wednesday that he’d gladly welcome an invite to the postseason tournament.
Tech might have a better chance to get an NIT bid this season, as the tournament has changed its selection process, favoring major-conference teams over those from smaller leagues.
“Hell yeah, absolutely,” Young said when asked if he’d be in favor of playing in the NIT. “To play in the postseason? Sign me up.
“We all want to play in the big one, but to coach these guys again and make a run at that thing, you’re doggone right.”
Trimble’s“huge”impact: North Carolina sophomore guard Seth Trimble matched a season high with 12 points in 18 minutes in the fourth-ranked Tar Heels’ 92-67 ACC Tournament quarterfinal win over Florida State. He made 4 of 7 field-goal attempts, including a rim-rattling slam dunk, and added five rebounds and two assists.
“I thought that was really impactful and huge for us,” Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis said, adding that Trimble is back to himself after missing two games in February due to injury.
Trimble, who is averaging 5.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, finished third in ACC Sixth Man of the Year voting behind Pitt’s Ishmael Leggett and Syracuse’s Quadir Copeland.
“I feel like the last three or four games, he’s playing the way that he played prior to him getting hurt, the way that he played in the first Duke game where he was using his speed and his athleticism to be an impact on both ends of the floor,” Davis said. “He’s attacking the basket and using his athleticism to be able to finish defensively because of his ability to be able to eat up the ball.”