Chapel Hill, NC (Sports Network) - Deon Thompson and Ty Lawson each scored 16 points, as top-ranked North Carolina rode a huge first-half surge to a 93-62 rout of North Carolina State at the Smith Center.

North Carolina (17-0, 2-0 ACC) closed the first half with a 34-4 run en route to the easy victory, and is off to its best start since the 1997-98 squad went 17-0.

"It was a great first half for us," said North Carolina's Roy Williams, who improved to 9-1 against NC State as Tar Heel head coach. "They had a lot of shots that they normally make that didn't go in for them today. I think our defense had something to do with it, but it wasn't the only reason."

Danny Green contributed 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Tar Heels, while Tyler Hansbrough also notched a double-double with 13 points and 13 boards. Wayne Ellington chipped in with 13 points.

Courtney Fells scored 16 points and J.J. Hickson added 14 with eight rebounds for the Wolfpack (11-4, 0-1) in their conference opener. NC State entered the contest with a seven-game winning streak and suffered its first loss since a 75-69 setback at East Carolina on December 8.

"This is how the conference is going to be played," stated NC State head coach Sidney Lowe. "I don't know about building on it, but understand that this is the type of the environment we are going to be in and we are going to have to execute. We have to play good basketball to win on the road or at home. These type of environments exist in our conference and we have to be ready to play."

The game was tied at 9-9 when North Carolina completely took over.

Hansbrough hit a pair of free throws to put the Tar Heels ahead for good. Thompson and Alex Stephenson followed with baskets for North Carolina before a free throw by Green made it 16-9.

Hickson countered for NC State, but the Wolfpack then missed their next 18 shots as the Tar Heels ripped off 25 straight points. Thompson's layup with 1:40 remaining gave North Carolina a 41-11 lead before Fells finally ended the lengthy Wolfpack drought with a long jumper from the left corner.

Stephenson scored on Carolina's next trip down the floor, sending the Tar Heels into the break with a commanding 43-13 cushion. Thompson scored 10 points and Hansbrough chipped in nine to lead North Carolina, which took the colossal advantage without a first-half point from Lawson.

"We just focused in on defensive principles and picked up the intensity," said Green about the first-half run. "We got going with good defense and easy baskets on offense. They were missing some shots, but I guess it was due to our good defense, so we just kept that going and, we went up big at halftime."

NC State suffered through its worst first half of the season, making just 6- of-34 shots. The Wolfpack's previous low for the first 20 minutes was 17 points in a 50-43 victory over Presbyterian on January 5.

The Tar Heels coasted in the second half and reached the 90-point mark for the seventh straight game. Both teams shot well over 50 percent in the second half, as the Wolfpack made 58.1 percent of their attempts and the Tar Heels connected on 53.8 percent.

"I thought the second half we came out and played a lot better," Lowe added. "A little more patient in the second half and as a result we shot a higher percentage."