UNC men's basketball leads NC State, 51-37, at the half

The No. 10 North Carolina men’s basketball team leads N.C. State, 51-37, at halftime in PNC Arena. Here are some things you missed from the first 20 minutes of action.

Another Fast Start

Before head coach Mark Gottfried could even call his first timeout to stop the bleeding, the Tar Heels had already jumped out to a 19-7 lead. Benefiting from a leaking N.C. State defense, UNC scored at will to start the contest.

North Carolina continued to pile up points offensively, benefiting from a strong showing from virtually every Tar Heel who stepped on the floor. Just minutes later, UNC had quietly built a 17-point lead.

But thanks to the hot hand of first-year guard Dennis Smith Jr., who scored 17 of his team’s 37 points, the Wolfpack battled back to within six with 3:24 to play. The Tar Heels responded in the final minutes of the half, extending the lead back to double digits.

Too Big to Handle

After being outrebounded in their last outing, the Tar Heels made an early effort to establish themselves in the paint. And that they did, racking up eight points in the paint in the first 3:12 of the contest.

Every Tar Heel big man who stepped on the floor scored, and did so without much trouble. Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks, Luke Maye and Tony Bradley each scored at least four points, shot at least 50 percent from the floor and hauled in a rebound, all before the first 10 minutes even elapsed.

Despite foul trouble for Hicks, who picked up three in just five minutes on the floor, UNC continued to coast in the paint. The Tar Heels finished the half with 24 rebounds, 10 of them on the offensive end, and 32 points in the paint to just eight for N.C.State.

Battle of the Guards

After Smith's lackluster performance in his first outing against UNC, the guard position was the biggest bright spot for the Wolfpack. Smith single-handedly prevented an all-out blowout early in the contest, serving as the only source of consistent offense while the rest of his team struggled. Smith then led his team’s comeback, as the Wolfpack clawed back from down 17 to keep things interesting.

But for every bucket Smith knocked down, bringing the N.C. State faithful to its feet, Berry had an answer to silence the crowd. Berry finished with 11 points of his own in the first period, including three 3-pointers to quell the comeback.

With the two guards marking each other for the majority of the time they shared on the floor, all eyes followed the pair of sharpshooters wherever they went.

@_Brohammed

sports@dailytarheel.com