Blake Smith, a Germantown Academy grad and a sophomore walk-on guard for the Northwestern Wildcats, helped his team to an 77-65 overtime win in the opening round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on Friday, March 22 against #8 Florida Atlantic.

According to InsideNU’s writeup, the 6’6″ Blue Bell native made key plays down the stretch, including a pair of steals. He and the Wildcats move on to Round of 32 against #1-seeded University of Connecticut on Sunday, March 24.

As a senior at GA, Smith earned All-Inter-Academic League honors and caught the attention of Malvern Prep head coach Paul Romanczuk, whose brother-in-law happened to be Northwestern head coach Chris Collins (who is the son of former Sixers player and head coach Doug Collins), The Inquirer said. He considered committing to a Division III school but instead applied to Northwestern to pursue a degree in sports broadcasting.

“We’re living our best life right now through Blake Smith,” Northwestern assistant coach Brian James — a former Sixers assistant — told The Inquirer. “Finally, a walk-on that was playing when the game was on the line and doing well. …That’s every walk-on’s dream.”

His dad, Larry, was a walk-on basketball player at North Carolina, and was a teammate of current Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis. His sister, Alexis, plays soccer at Georgetown.

For all the latest news, follow us on Facebook or sign up for Glenside Local’s “Daily Buzz” newsletter here.

Photo: Michael Hickey / Getty Images