CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 19 (UPI) -- Tyler Zeller, John Henson and Harrison Barnes teamed to score 84 points Friday in second-seeded North Carolina's 102-87 NCAA tourney win over Long Island.
The Tar Heels needed a potent offensive display from their top scorers to fight off the 15th-seeded Blackbirds, who attempted 31 shots from 3-point range and 84 from the field overall.
North Carolina, winner of the regular-season Atlantic Coast Conference championship, will next face Washington in the East Region. Washington advanced Friday by holding off Georgia 68-65.
Long Island battled the Tar Heels on even terms for the first 15 minutes before North Carolina opened as much as a 21-point lead in the second half. The Tar Heels were the first team in this year's tournament to reach 100 points.
Zeller was 9-of-14 from the field and 14-of-19 from the line in scoring 32 points. Henson had 28 points and Barnes scored 24 points to go with 16 rebounds. The rest of the Tar Heels combined to score 18 points.
North Carolina will take a 26-7 record into the next round.
Long Island (27-5) won the Northeast Conference regular-season crown and then captured the league tournament. The Blackbirds were paced by 18 points from Julian Boyd.
