LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Harrison Barnes scored 21 points, and P.J. Hairston had 19 to help top-ranked North Carolina beat South Carolina 87-62 on Friday night in the third round of the Las Vegas Invitational.
John Henson had 18 points and eight rebounds, Kendall Marshall finished with 14 assists, six steals and four points, and Tyler Zeller added 12 points for the Tar Heels (5-0).
North Carolina will face UNLV (6-0) in the championship game Saturday night.
RJ Slawson led South Carolina (2-3) with career highs of 13 points, 14 rebounds, and had four blocks. Daimen Leonard and Malik Cooke each had 12 points, and Anthony Gill added 10 points and six rebounds.
South Carolina will play Southern California on Saturday.
North Carolina never trailed, jumping to a 19-4 lead.
The Tar Heels made it 27-10, with Hairston scoring eight points,
The Gamecocks turned the ball over 17 times to the Tar Heels' six in the half.
South Carolina never got the lead below 11 points in the second half as the Tar Heels extended the advantage to 27 in the final minute.
The game was the first meeting between the teams since Dec. 7, 1996, and North Carolina leads the series 57-21. About 3,000 North Carolina fans attended the game at the 8,000-seat arena.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWACH