CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Another big victory was slipping away from North Carolina State. Because the Wolfpack finally learned how to finish a game, their season isnt finished just yet.Jaylen Samuels ran for one touchdown and threw for another on a trick play, and N.C. State held on to upset rival North Carolina 28-21 on Friday, earning bowl eligibility while also locking up a division title for Virginia Tech.Its been a frustrating season for the Wolfpack (6-6, 3-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), who seemingly had victories in hand against a pair of nationally ranked division rivals -- Clemson and Florida State -- only to let them get away.It definitely makes you feel the worth of all your work, coach Dave Doeren said. Were playing every game but one -- Louisville -- for four quarters, toe to toe, with every team. We havent won enough of them. I agree. But we are so much more competitive than weve ever been.In what at times seemed like a replay of N.C. States 35-7 rout here two years ago, Matt Dayes rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns. The second of those put the Wolfpack up 21-0 early in the second quarter.Samuels threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to Stephen Louis on a trick play on the opening drive, and ran 4 yards for the TD that made it 28-7.Mitch Trubisky threw three touchdown passes for the Tar Heels (8-4, 5-3), including a 48-yarder to Bug Howard that made it a seven-point game with 7:52 left. But on their next possession, they were stopped on downs near midfield with 3:10 to go and N.C. State ran out the clock -- with backup quarterback Jalen McClendon sealing it with a 14-yard run on third-and-5 with about 2 minutes left.Its about these players and these coaches hanging together amid a lot of heartbreaking days and negativity and doubt, Doeren said. Guys just kept fighting with each other and for each other and they knew where our program is headed. ... Today was about mastering ourselves and finding a way to win and doing it against our rival.The Tar Heels, 10 1/2-point favorites, needed a win and a Virginia Tech loss to Virginia to earn a second straight ACC championship game berth. This loss locks the Hokies into next weeks matchup with No. 4 Clemson in Orlando, Florida.THE TAKEAWAYN.C. State: This should take some heat off Doeren, who had been drawing criticism from a segment of the fan base after going 8-23 in ACC games before this one. In four years, Doeren now has won almost as many ACC games at UNCs Kenan Stadium (two) as he has at his own Carter-Finley Stadium (three).North Carolina: By losing to a pair of neighborhood rivals -- both of whom were under .500 at the time -- the Tar Heels blew their chance to repeat as Coastal champions. They lost to Duke and N.C. State in the same season for the first time since 2003, and in some ways this game felt like an extension of the loss in Durham -- with the Tar Heels managing a combined 13 points in the last two quarters of that game and the first three of this one.Thats on us, running back Elijah Hood said about the teams lack of focus. Weve got to go out there -- were on the football field, the balls coming to us, weve got to make that catch. Theres really no excuse for it.THE BRAWLThings got chippy late in the first half when UNC DT Jalen Dalton was ejected for throwing a punch during a fight that cleared the benches. The skirmish broke out near midfield with about six minutes left in the half after N.C. States Matt Dayes fumbled. The ball squirted about 20 yards downfield with at least four players trying to scoop it up. That led to a pileup near midfield, and Dalton appeared to hit Wolfpack lineman Terronne Prescod. Later in the skirmish, UNC coach Larry Fedora unsuccessfully tried to restrain Dalton by the back of his collar. After a review, the pass was ruled incomplete.KEY MOMENTNorth Carolina trailed 21-7 at halftime and started the second half by recovering an onside kick to seemingly seize momentum. But during an official review, it was determined that Ayden Bonilla had delivered an illegal block before Anthony Ratliff-Williams recovered the ball. That wiped out the recovery and required a rekick, and N.C. State then chewed up 6 1/2 minutes with a 14-play drive that ended with Samuels touchdown run that made it 28-7.UP NEXTN.C. State: This victory earned the Wolfpack a spot in a bowl game, and on Dec. 4 theyll find out who and where they play.North Carolina: The Tar Heels wont have to worry about flying to Orlando next week for the ACC championship game. Instead, theyll await their bowl opponent.---Follow Joedy McCreary at http://twitter.com/joedyap.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25.Nike SB Shoes Ireland . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Nike SB Shoes Sale Online . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. http://www.cheapnikesbireland.com/ . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Nike SB Cheap Wholesale .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. Nike SB Shoes For Sale Ireland . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level.GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Pekka Rinne and Mike Smith have followed each others careers since they broke into the league in 2005 and 2006, respectively.They watched each other become elite goaltenders when given the opportunity to play consistently. They squared off in the 2012 Western Conference semifinals and they went through dry spells in their careers that had analysts wondering if they were done.They were not. Both 34-year-olds are among the leagues top 20 in save percentage this season -- Rinne is 17th at .922; Smith is 13th at .926. Both are facing an inordinate amount of shots and both have been key reasons for any success their teams have had -- in Smiths case, perhaps the only reason.Now back at the top of their profession, Smith and Rinne expressed mutual admiration for each other as they prepared to face each other for the first time this season on Saturday at Gila River Arena.We played in the minor leagues together so weve gotten to know each other and we have a mutual friend in Nashville, Smith said. Hes a battler. Hes obviously a big guy that covers a lot of net, but the one thing about Peks is he never gives up on a puck and youve got to respect the guy for that -- a guy that big that can move that well.Rinne said its still hard to believe that he and Smith have been in the league a decade-plus.For years and years I still considered myself a young guy and all of the sudden youve played a lot of years in this league and youre looked at as one of the older guys, Rinne said, laughing. Were the same age so Im really happy to see Smitty still doing well.It is still business as usual when you play against each other because its all about the two points, but for sure, you always try to be better than your counterpart and when you know the guy it creates a little more of a battle. You always want to play well against the guys youve played a lot.Thhe Predators were hot at the tail end of November, winning four of five games, but they have dropped three of four (1-2-1) in December.ddddddddddddWere still trying to find that consistency, Rinne said.Arizona is trying to find any kind of winning combination. The Coyotes lost a season-high six games (0-3-3) and they are tied for the fewest points in the NHL with Colorado at 21. Smith thought Thursdays 2-1 overtime loss to Calgary was a step in the right direction.We talked about having to be more engaged in games and the compete level had to come up, he said. But now we have to sustain that and we have to generate more out of it. We cant just be satisfied with just being a team that works hard.The Coyotes made a trade to shore up their center position on Friday by sending a conditional sixth-round pick to Toronto in exchange for 25-year-old Peter Holland. Arizona GM John Chayka hopes that Holland can help replace Brad Richardson, who suffered a broken tibia and fibula and is out indefinitely.Hes been somewhat productive in limited opportunities at times and hes been a good stabilizing force in any position hes used in, Chayka said. Hes coming into a group where weve got a lot of injuries and just underperformance. Hes a guy that will certainly get opportunity.Coyotes left wing Max Demi left Thursdays game with a cut under his eye and was seeing doctors on Friday for reasons the Coyotes would not identify. His status for Saturday is uncertain and will be updated at Saturdays morning skate.Nashville defensemen Ryan Ellis (upper-body), Anthony Bitetto (upper body) and forwards Colton Sissons (upper-body) and Miikka Salomaki (hand) are on injured reserve, but both Ellis and Sissons practiced Friday and are nearing returns. ' ' '