RALEIGH, N.C. -- Freshman point guard Dennis Smith Jr. scored 23 points as North Carolina State clobbered McNeese State 89-57 on Thursday night at PNC Arena.

Maverick Rowan racked up 15 points as N.C. State (10-2) won its fifth game in a row. Torin Dorn added 11 points, and Terry Henderson had 10 points.

N.C. State is off to its best start to a season since posting a 14-2 mark to open the 2012-13.

Jamaya Burr's 14 points paced McNeese State (3-8), which was denied its first two-game winning streak of the season. Teammates Richard Laku and Labarrius Hill had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Smith led N.C. State in scoring for the fourth time this season. He made 9 of 12 shots from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range.

After the margin ballooned above 30 points, the Wolfpack had a second-half scoring drought of more than four minutes and that didn't seem to matter.

N.C. State bolted to a 49-28 halftime lead despite going the last 5 1/2 minutes of the half without a field goal.

Smith scored 12 points in less than eight minutes as the Wolfpack stormed to a 23-8 lead. His four-point play gave him 16 points and the Wolfpack a 40-17 advantage.

Rowan had 11 points with more than five minutes to play in the opening half.

N.C. State had a 29-12 halftime rebounding margin, and the Wolfpack wound up with a 55-27 edge on the glass.

This was the first-ever meeting between the teams.