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Barnes helps Tar Heels top Florida State

Feb 7, 2011 - 7:02 AM Chapel Hill, NC (Sports Network) - Freshman Harrison Barnes finished with a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds, as No. 23 North Carolina dominated Florida State, 89-69, at the Smith Center.

John Henson and Tyler Zeller both finished with 16 points, while Dexter Strickland added 15 for the Tar Heels (17-5, 7-1 ACC), who have won five straight since suffering their lone conference loss -- to Georgia Tech on January 16.

Kendall Marshall dished out a game-high 16 assists for the Tar Heels, who now prepare to play Duke on Wednesday, the season's first installment of the annual Tobacco Road rivalry.

"We've got to celebrate this one until 12 o'clock tonight and then we've got to focus on Duke," said Henson. "Hopefully we can keep it going."

Chris Singleton paced the Seminoles (16-7, 6-3) with 15 points. Derwin Kitchen added 12 points and six assists, while both Bernard James and Okaro White scored 10 in the loss. Florida State has lost two of its last three games.

"Sometimes you just got to give a team credit," Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton said of the Tar Heels. "They've made tremendous improvement. I watched them early in the year and they're playing with a lot more confidence."

Strickland paced the Tar Heels with 10 points and four boards in the first half, helping North Carolina take a 43-34 lead at the break. North Carolina shot 48.5 percent from the field and 7-of-12 from the foul line in the opening 20 minutes.

After White opened the second half with a jumper, Strickland drained a three- pointer off a Henson miss to start a 14-5 Tar Heels run. Zeller capped it with a jumper to put North Carolina up 57-41 with 14 minutes remaining.

A Deividas Dulkys three-pointer less than 20 seconds later began a short 9-0 Florida State run, which trimmed its deficit to 57-50. However, Marshall connected from the beyond the arc to end the surge, and the Tar Heels' lead stood at 71-55 after Barnes drilled a three with just over the seven minutes left.

The Seminoles attempted to make several runs down the stretch, but North Carolina responded each time. The Tar Heels shot 64.3 percent from the field in the second half, and Henson scored 13 of his points in the final 20 minutes to help seal the win.

Game Notes

Justin Knox added eight points in a reserve role for North Carolina...The Tar Heels held a 37-31 rebounding advantage...North Carolina leads the all-time series 41-10.