An exasperating final heave from junior forward Richard Howell ended the Wolfpack’s hope for an ACC basketball tournament title, but not without controversy as North Carolina advanced. The madness began with just over eight minutes to play. Sophomore forward Calvin Leslie received his fourth and fifth fouls, a debatable charge and a mystery foul in a mere 30 seconds, disqualifying him for the game. All seemed to be lost for the Pack. But through it all, the team showed great resilience. The players had fire in their eyes; a glimmer of sure hope remained. With time winding down and the game knotted up at 67 a piece, UNC guard Kendall Marshall drove into the lane, lowering his shoulder into senior Wolfpack guard Alex Johnson and banked the shot giving the Tar Heels a 69-67 lead. In a game plagued with foul calls on both ends of the court, the officiating crew held their whistles. “Are you kidding me?” ESPN analyst Len Elmore exclaimed. “With all of the contact and all of the fouls called, how can you ignore that play? How can you ignore that play?” ESPN studio analyst Dan Dakich had more to add postgame. “I think had that been flipped,” Dakich said. “Had a North Carolina State player ran into a North Carolina player, I think that official right there would have been dramatic and called it a charge. “I think it’s a great defensive play. Whenever you see a player lower his shoulder, it’s going to be a charge. It’s just the way it is.” What was seemingly a charge to well-respected basketball experts suddenly gave Carolina a two-point lead with only 10.2 seconds remaining. Head Coach Mark Gottfried was quick to respond. So was referee Brian Dorsey, as sports journalist Adam Smith reported via Twitter. Gottfried: “That’s a charge!” Ref Brian Dorsey: “Shut your #$%&& ass up!”‘, Smith tweeted. Confirmation of the quote came shortly afterwards. 99.9 FM “The Fan” radio host Joe Ovies retweeted Smith also agreed with Smith’s claim.

“Yup, that just happened,” Ovies said. Two confirmed, reliable sources claiming the utmost disrespect toward Gottfried, following the most controversial call of the tournament. Gameplay continued as sophomore guard Lorenzo Brown pushed the ball up court to junior forward Scott Wood. Wood’s pass underneath the basket was intercepted by Tar Heel guard Justin Watts and thrown into the backcourt. Johnson caught the ball and immediately took a timeout with a mere .6 seconds remaining. “The big story of the day, whether you like it or not, has been the officiating,” ESPN play-by-play announcer Dan Shulman said. Then came the final shot from Howell. In an attempt to throw the ball to the basket, Howell drew more contact from Carolina defenders. The whistle never came. Howell had to be restrained by his teammates as he voiced his frustration to the officials. Facebook and Twitter exploded as State fans let their anger out, voicing their own opinions on the inconsistent officiating that has plagued the ACC this season and ended the Pack’s chance of going to the ACC championship game. Wolfpack fans feel no remorse for what was said, and they aren’t seeking to reconcile with the ACC any time soon.

Jonathan Benjamin, a junior in biochemistry, expressed his frustration at the show put up by the officials, especially the one that decided the game. “I was kind of disappointed with [the officiating],” Benjamin said. “The end no-call against Kendall Marshall could’ve gone either way, but I feel like if you’re going to call that earlier in the game, then you should be consistent at the end of the game, as well.”  

Freshman in general agriculture, John Gates Peele too expressed disbelief at the decision. “That charge on CJ Leslie was the same charge that Marshall had on Alex Johnson,” Peele said. “Exact same scenario, so they should call that, especially at the end of the game after calling that the rest of the game. Why wouldn’t they call that at the end of the game? “[The ACC] should look into [the officiating], at least, to see what’s wrong.” While the investigation scenario is unlikely, there is rejuvenated hope for the Wolfpack. Despite the devastating loss to the Heels, State managed to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. UNC is a No. 1 seed in the Pack’s region, giving way to an opportunity to extract revenge at a neutral location with a different crew of referees. A tournament run by the Wolfpack is unlikely and would shock the basketball world, but as the great Julius Hodge once said, “When we hungry, we eat.” After a gut-wrenching loss that many feel shouldn’t have happened against the school’s number one rival, you could bet the Red Terrors are starving for lamb chops.