Kendall Marshall lessened the blow of the abrupt departure by Larry Drew III by setting a school freshman record with 16 assists as North Carolina readied itself for a showdown with Duke by posting an 89-69 victory over visiting Florida State on Sunday.

Harrison Barnes had 17 points and nine rebounds and Tyler Zeller scored 16 points for the Tar Heels (18-5, 8-1 ACC), who won their fifth straight and are tied with Duke for first place in the ACC with a date looming Wednesday.

Drew, the starting point guard for most of the last two years before a recent benching in favor of Marshall, left campus Friday with an intention of transferring.

Marshall solidified himself as the starter against the Seminoles, continually penetrating and finding the open man as Carolina shot 54 percent from the floor.

The Tar Heels held a comfortable lead pretty much throughout the contest, but the Seminoles cut a 16-point deficit to 57-50 with 11:09 left, but with the shot clock winding down, Marshall heaved a 28-foot desperation shot to restore some order. Zeller followed with a jump hook on the right block, and Harrison Barnes’ 3-pointer 2 ½ minutes later pushed the edge back to a comfortable 16.

Chris Singleton scored 17 points for Florida State (16-8, 6-4), which had won five of their last six.