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Luke Maye gets standing ovation in class after hitting game-winner for UNC

By Alexa Ashwell
By Alexa Ashwell

A little more than 12 hours after hitting the game-winning shot for the University of North Carolina, Luke Maye attended his Business 101 class and got a standing ovation from his classmates.

Maye’s classmate Jack Sewell tweeted out video that shows students cheering for Maye as he stood up in the front of class.

FRAME-BY-FRAME: Luke Maye hits game-winning shot for Tar Heels

Maye, who was a standout at Hough High School, made a shot with less than one second left to propel the Tar Heels over Kentucky Sunday night in Memphis.

Maye, who is a former walk-on for the team, scored a career-high 16 points Friday in the team’s Sweet 16 win over Butler. He then topped it off with 17 points in Sunday’s Elite Eight win over Kentucky.

Now, his former coach and parents couldn't be more proud.

Sunday night’s game-winning shot was enough to bring Luke Maye’s mother to tears.

“Running down the court last night,” Aimee Maye said. “If I know Luke, he's probably thinking, ‘Theo. I'm here for you man. Whatever you need. If you need a screen, need a rebound, if you need me to take the shot, too.’"

Even his dad, known for his calm demeanor couldn't hide his excitement when talking with the family outside their house Monday in Huntersville.

"I was actually pretty fired up for that,” Mark Maye said. “Hopped up and down a little bit, which is a lot for me."

The family snapped pictures of Luke Maye cutting down a piece of the net, then the team posing together.

“He came over to where the families were after they took pictures,” Aimee Maye said. “That's when the tears started to flow.”

The Maye family stressed they are proud of the entire UNC basketball team and look forward to the Final Four.

Luke Maye’s former coach at Hough High was buzzing with pride.

“He told coach (Roy) Williams he was going to be his hardest worker, and that's what he did from his freshman year to his sophomore year,” coach Jason Grube said.

This is the second straight time the Tar Heels have been the region's top seed and advanced to the Final Four through Memphis, and now they can only hope they replicate their success of 2009 when they won the program's fifth national title. Coach Roy Williams improved to 9-4 in regional finals overall and 5-3 at North Carolina.

The team will depart Wednesday or Thursday to Phoenix for their national semifinal game against Oregon.

South Carolina also advanced to the Final Four with a seven-point win over Florida. The win marks the first-ever Final Four appearance for the Gamecocks.

Before its run this year, the Gamecocks hadn't won an NCAA Tournament game since 1973.

For more on the historic wins by both teams, click here.

(Click on the interactive image below to learn more about Luke Maye)

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