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Barnes' 3 lifts No. 13 Tar Heels over FSU

Mar 3, 2011 - 4:23 AM Tallahassee, FL (Sports Network) - Harrison Barnes buried a three-pointer with 3.1 seconds left, lifting No. 13 North Carolina to a 72-70 victory over Florida State in an ACC thriller.

The play was called for Barnes, a freshman forward, who dribbled to the top of the arc and knocked down the go-ahead shot over Florida State guard Michael Snaer.

The Seminoles, after taking the lead with a 10-2 run, were suddenly forced to scramble at the end. But senior guard Derwin Kitchen dribbled out of bounds on the right side as he brought the ball up, ending the upset bid.

John Henson had 19 points to lead North Carolina while Barnes added 18.

The Tar Heels (23-6, 13-2 ACC) have won six straight since losing to Duke on February 9 and will finish off the regular season against the Blue Devils on Saturday. The ACC Tournament starts next week.

Kitchen scored 13 points to lead Florida State, Snaer scored 11 and Bernard James had 10.

The Seminoles (20-9, 10-5) have lost two of their last three and will wrap up the regular season on Sunday against North Carolina State.

They were looking to finish 8-0 in conference games at home for the first time in school history -- and nearly got there with a spectacular late run.

After Kendall Marshall knocked down a three-pointer to give North Carolina a 67-60 lead inside four minutes, Florida State scored 10 of the next 12 points to surge ahead.

Deividas Dulkys hit a key three-pointer from the right side to get the Seminoles within 67-66. The teams traded steals after that, with Dexter Strickland making a pair of free throws to give the Tar Heels a 69-66 lead.

Snaer missed a jumper, but the Seminoles got the ball back on a steal and Kitchen's driving layup got them within 69-68. Florida State got the ball back again with the shot clock turned off, turning to Kitchen after a timeout. He drove again, was fouled and knocked down both free throws for a 70-69 lead with 18.2 seconds left.

Marshall was blocked by Okaro White at the other end, but North Carolina retained possession and cleared out for Barnes following a timeout.

Game Notes

The Tar Heels remained tied with Duke atop the conference standings after the Blue Devils knocked off Clemson on Wednesday...Florida State led 38-37 at halftime...The Seminoles are third in ACC behind North Carolina and Duke.