CHARLOTTE —Tyler Zeller scored 32 points, John Henson added 28, and North Carolina used its hulking size to overcame sloppiness in its return to the NCAA tournament in a 102-87 victory over scrappy Long Island University on Friday night.

Harrison Barnes added 24 points and 16 rebounds for the second-seeded Tar Heels (27-7) who eventually wore down the 15th-seeded Blackbirds (27-6). The 2009 NCAA champions, relegated to the NIT last season, advanced to the third round of the East Regional.

Julian Boyd scored 18 points, C.J. Garner added 16 and Jamal Olasewere had 15 for LIU, which faded after rallying to tie with under 5 minutes left in the first half as its nation-best 13-game winning streak was snapped.

The 7-footer Zeller and 6-10 Henson kept catching high passes for easy layups over smaller LIU to each record career highs in points.

Still, North Carolina was far from sharp despite playing a virtual home game 2 1/2 hours from campus.

There was a meltdown in the first half and another hiccup midway through the second when the Tar Heels’ 21-point lead was sliced to 10.

LIU, which came in as the nation’s fourth-highest scoring team at 82.6 points a game, didn’t shy away from running with the equally fast-paced Tar Heels. But North Carolina’s overwhelming talent was the difference in its 24th consecutive NCAA tournament win in its home state.

The Tar Heels, who overcame 18 turnovers with 51 percent shooting from the field, will play the Washington-Georgia winner on Sunday.

The Blackbirds, the Northeast Conference champions making their first NCAA appearance since 1997, fell to 0-4 in the tournament despite a decent showing in a difficult environment.

And LIU’s 3-minute stretch of flawless basketball in the first half briefly had their small, but loud, fan contingent dreaming.

After falling behind 12-2 and 31-19, the Blackbirds suddenly got their high-scoring offense going. As North Carolina went on a turnover spree, Olasewere was scoring off the dribble, Boyd knocked down a 3-pointer and coach Jim Ferry was doing a triple-fist pump in a 12-0 run to tie it.

But the Blackbirds, who entered with a nation-best 13 road victories, had no answer for North Carolina’s big men.

Henson surpassed his career high by halftime with 20 points, and Barnes’ late scoring spurt put the Tar Heels up 53-42 at the break even as coach Roy Williams fumed, punching a chair after North Carolina’s 11th turnover of the half.

The Tar Heels’ 7-0 spurt to start the second half put it out of reach. Henson, whose previous career high was 19 points, later scoring six straight points to make it 66-45 with 16:47 left.

Zeller, one of only two players left from the 2009 title team, had his way inside in the second half against an LIU team whose tallest starter was 6-7.

Zeller scored 25 points after halftime, including 14 of 19 shooting from the foul line. Kendall Marshall added 10 assists and North Carolina surpassed 100 points for the fourth time this season in its 15th win in 17 games.

But there were few smiles from Williams with tougher tests looming for the Tar Heels.