No. 8 UNC went into the intermission at the Smith Center up 56-40 against N.C. State, thanks to a 14-point first-half performance from first-year guard Coby White.
What happened?
UNC (17-4, 7-1 ACC) got the game started with a 3-pointer from graduate guard Cameron Johnson. The teams traded basket before senior guard Kenny Williams answered with another three to make it a 10-5 game.
N.C. State (16-6, 4-5 ACC) responded with a 5-0 run to tie the contest at 10. After Williams made a layup for his seventh point of the night, senior forward Luke Maye followed with a jumper. He was fouled on the play and made the subsequent free throw.
By the under-12 timeout, UNC had extended its lead to 22-16, thanks to a 5-0 run. Maye added four points during the run and Williams chipped in a free throw.
Out of the break, Braxton Beverly hit a 3-pointer, his third of the night, for the Wolfpack to cut the deficit to three points. UNC answered with an 11-2 run highlighted by White's first 3-pointer of the night and two turnovers by N.C. State.
First-year forward Nassir Little scored six of the team's next nine points as UNC extended its lead to 40-25.
The Tar Heels stretched their lead to 16 points after White converted an and-one layup, but Beverly answered with a banked 3-pointer. On the next possession, White hit another and-one layup for his 11th point of the night.
At the 2:05 mark in the half, Williams hit a layup to give UNC 50 points for the half. After junior guard Brandon Robinson hit a free throw, Johnson found Little on a lob pass for a layup to make it a 53-35 game.