RALEIGH, N.C. -- The way North Carolina answered some early struggles might have been the most rewarding part for the Tar Heels on Wednesday night.

Then they showed their own knockout delivery.

Forward Brice Johnson scored 22 points and No. 7 North Carolina blew past rival North Carolina State after a shaky start for an 80-68 victory at PNC Arena.

"They came out and hit us," Johnson said. "We just had to buckle down and play harder."

The outcome allowed North Carolina to remain in sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference with three games remaining.

"I was pleased with how we kept playing," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "We didn't do anything crazy. We looked like a veteran team out there."

Forward Justin Jackson added 17 points for North Carolina (23-5, 12-3 ACC), guard Joel Berry had 11 points and guard Marcus Paige scored 10.

Johnson, who grabbed 11 rebounds, scored 14 points in the second half as the Tar Heels made a habit of pushing the ball inside for close-range attempts.

"Didn't defend them as well as I would like in the second half," N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said. "I think we got worn down some by their depth. ... We really struggled with our interior defense."

North Carolina led by double digits for the final 12 minutes even though it made just 1 of 8 3-point shots in the second half.

Guard Anthony Barber, the ACC scoring leader at 23.1 points entering the game, had 32 points for N.C. State (14-14, 4-11). He scored at least 30 points for the eighth time this season.

Barber had 18 points in the first half, so the Tar Heels were pleased with the second-half defense.

"(The players) sort of realized the quickness he has," Williams said. "We got a little more used to his speed."

N.C. State forward Abdul-Malik Abu's 13 points and forward Caleb Martin's 11 helped the Wolfpack.

The Tar Heels swept the season series from N.C. State for the 10th time in Williams' 13 seasons as head coach.

N.C. State, which won its previous three home games, was unable to keep the sellout crowd in a frenzy after the early going. The Wolfpack hasn't won consecutive games since late December.

North Carolina overcame a 13-point deficit to build a 38-33 halftime lead.

N.C. State was without a field goal for more than nine minutes to end the first half, scoring all of its points during that span on eight free throws.

N.C. State burst to a 23-10 lead less than eight minutes into the game. Barber had 16 points, which was twice as many as he had in the previous game when he scored a season-low eight against Clemson.

"We had a great start to the game," Gottfried said. "Guys had phenomenal energy and we kind of hit the wall and couldn't sustain it. ... I thought (Barber) got a little tired at times. He started the game tremendously well and I thought he finished it pretty strong."

It was also an upgrade for Barber from last month's game against North Carolina in Chapel Hill when he scored nine points.

Barber made 7 of 15 shots from the field during the first 18 minutes, but his teammates were a combined 4 of 17 in the first half.

North Carolina pulled even at 29, forcing N.C. State to call timeout with 5:14 left in the first half. Jackson's 3-pointer from the top of the key gave the Tar Heels their first lead since the opening minutes and he added two more baskets during what became a 14-0 run.

"Justin Jackson got us back in the game," Williams said. "For me, even though we didn't end the half great, the whole game was right there."

N.C. State made 7 of 9 3-point shots in the half. Half of the Wolfpack’s 20 first-half rebounds came at the offensive end.

NOTES: North Carolina, which won 67-55 in the first meeting of the season, has won 19 of the last 21 matchups with North Carolina State. ... The Tar Heels won their two previous visits to Raleigh by a total of three points, with one of the games going to overtime. ... North Carolina went back to a starting lineup that included F Kennedy Meeks after he was a reserve in Saturday's rout of Miami. ... North Carolina faces a showdown Saturday night at Virginia in its only out-of-state trip in its last seven regular-season games. ... N.C. State goes to Syracuse on Saturday.