The month of November culminated in a wild weekend of sports. Amidst the World Cup raging overseas, NC State football battled against UNC-Chapel Hill on rivalry weekend. While the rest of November brought its fair share of must-watch highlights, it’s no surprise that the Pack’s upset win over the Heels provided some legendary plays that’ll go down in history for the red-and-white.
Terquavion Takeover
Sophomore guard Terquavion Smith had some lofty expectations laid upon him before the start of the 2022-23 season. In the Pack’s opening night matchup against Austin Peay, he reminded everyone why his return to the NC State men’s basketball team was so highly anticipated as he promptly entered takeover mode against the Governors.
“Baby T” simply does it all. And here, the sophomore uses his sharpshooting skills to effortlessly stroke a deep pull-up 3, putting an exclamation point on his 26-point night as he proceeded to put on a much-deserved celebration afterwards.
Defense to Offense
Another highlight from PNC Arena comes courtesy of a tag-team effort from the men’s basketball squad. This time it was sophomore forward Ernest Ross that made a monster block at one end of the court. Just seconds later, the ball found its way to sophomore guard Breon Pass, who made a tough play at the other end for the and-one finish at the rim.
It’s no secret that the Wolfpack has had an impressive start to its 2022-23 campaign thus far, and team plays like this will only continue to build chemistry and add to the red-and-white’s resume as NC State continues to win game after game.
It ain’t over till it’s over
A play is never over until it’s over, and Virginia learned this the hard way against the NC State volleyball team.
After a long rally versus the Cavaliers, the Wolfpack had seemingly lost a point after Virginia blocked sophomore opposite hitter Amanda Rice’s kill attempt at the net. But as the Cavs entered their celebration huddle, NC State never gave up on the play.
The blocked ball bounced off graduate libero Priscilla Hernandez, allowing junior middle blocker Riley Shaak to casually kick the ball up into the air as it was just inches off the ground. The kicked volleyball floated right into Rice’s area and as Virginia looked back, it was all too late.
The Cavaliers could only watch as Rice got her revenge, floating the ball over the net and out of reach for her opponents to complete the heads-up play.
Ingle’s Incredible Interception
For the second straight season, NC State football defeated the rival UNC Tar Heels in thrilling fashion. The Pack’s double overtime win at “Carter-Finley West” was an instant classic, and senior safety Tanner Ingle made one of the biggest plays of the game.
Tied at 17-17, UNC quarterback Drake Maye was driving the Heels down the field. With less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter, he looked to deliver the go-ahead touchdown for the then-No. 17 Tar Heels. But Ingle had other plans.
With a little help from redshirt junior linebacker Drake Thomas pressuring Maye, the Wolfpack’s defensive line tipped his pass as he stepped up in the pocket. Ingle then made a diving, one-handed interception on the deflected ball, creating a monumental turnover for NC State.
The ‘Carter-Finley’ Connection
Ingle’s tide-turning interception gave redshirt freshman quarterback Ben Finley his own chance to get the go-ahead score. On third down with just four minutes remaining, Finley made the biggest throw of his career.
As he dropped back, the redshirt freshman lofted a back-shoulder pass to his favorite target of the day: redshirt junior wide receiver Devin Carter. As the ball drifted towards the sideline, Carter boxed out his man and hauled in Finley’s throw. Carter then backpedaled into the endzone, granting NC State a 24-17 lead.
While Maye and the high-flying North Carolina offense scored their own touchdown on the final play of the game, sending the season-finale showdown into overtime, Finley, Carter and the rest of the Pack still pulled out the legendary win.
