LAS VEGAS — Oregon found a way to beat a ranked team even when it wasn’t playing at its best.
Damyean Dotson scored a team-high 19 points, including a short jumper from the key to give Oregon the lead for good in an 83-79 upset of No. 18 UNLV on Friday night in the semifinals of the Global Sports Classic.
“I didn’t like some of our execution, but the guys played hard and found a way to win," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “It was a great game for us to win ... We found a way."
Down 81-79, UNLV’s Anthony Marshall drove the lane at the opposite end of the court. but his lay-in rimmed out with 9.1 seconds left. Dotson grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Marshall, and Oregon’s freshman guard sank two free throws for the final margin.
Dotson was one of four Ducks (5-0) to score in double figures. Carlos Emery had 16 points, Ben Carter added 12 and Dominic Artis contributed 11.
Oregon will play No. 22 Cincinnati in the Classic championship game tonight at 7:30 p.m. (televised on CBS Sports Network).
In a wild second-half that had 16 lead changes and five ties, the Runnin’ Rebels (2-1) raced out with an 8-2 run to take a 45-42 lead at the 14:54 mark. But Oregon never lost focus and used a 13-5 run of its own to regain control.
UNLV was led by freshman Anthony Bennett’s double-double — 22 points and 10 rebounds. Katin Reinhardt scored all of his 18 points in the second half, while Justin Hawkins added 12 and Bryce Dejean-Jones put in 11.
Reinhardt led the second-half surge, making four 3-pointers.
But after falling behind 74-73 with 2:34 left in the game, Oregon’s Dotson took over to score eight of the Ducks’ final 10 points.
“(Dotson) did a great job," Altman said. “He found his way to the basket and made really good plays down the stretch."
The Ducks have opened the season 5-0 for the first time since 2006, when it started the campaign 13-0.
After UNLV started with a 9-2 run in just less than the first two minutes of the game, Oregon made a run of its own, outscoring the Runnin’ Rebels 23-7 to open up a 25-16 lead on UNLV’s home court.
In other games Friday:
No. 2 Louisville 84
No. 13 Missouri 61
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Luke Hancock scored 19 points and Russ Smith had 18 points and six steals as Louisville won in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
No. 3 Ohio State 91
UMKC 45
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Deshaun Thomas scored 15 of his 21 points as Ohio State (4-0) coasted to a huge first-half lead in a victory against overmatched Missouri-Kansas.
No. 4 Michigan 71
Kansas State 57
NEW YORK — Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 23 points before he left late in the game after he was kneed in the head, and Michigan (5-0) won the NIT Season Tipoff.
No. 5 Duke 67
VCU 58
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Mason Plumlee, a 6-foot-10 center who helped break VCU’s pressure, had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Duke (5-0) to a victory in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
No. 7 Florida 79
UCF 66
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Kenny Boynton scored a season-high 24 points, Scottie Wilbekin added a career-best 17 and Florida (5-0) beat Central Florida.
No. 8 Kentucky 104
LIU-Brooklyn 75
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Alex Poythress and Archie Goodwin each scored 22 points as the Wildcats (4-1) ran away from winless LIU-Brooklyn.
No. 14 Creighton 84
Wisconsin 74
LAS VEGAS — Doug McDermott had 30 points and eight rebounds to lead Creighton (5-0) into a spot in the Las Vegas Invitational final.
No. 15 Michigan State 70
Oakland 52
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Keith Appling shook off a sprained right ankle in the first half and finished with 20 points to help Michigan State (4-1) to victory.
No. 16 N.C. State 82
UNC Asheville 80
RALEIGH, N.C. — Richard Howell scored 23 points, including the go-ahead basket with 3:06 left, to help North Carolina State (4-1) rally for the win.
No. 17 Gonzaga 72
Oklahoma 47
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Elias Harris scored 18 points and Gonzaga (5-0) routed Oklahoma in a semifinal matchup at the Old Spice Classic.
Minnesota 84
No. 19 Memphis 75
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Andre Hollins scored a career-high 41 points to lead Minnesota (5-1) to a victory in the consolation semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
No. 22 Cincinnati 78
Iowa State 70
LAS VEGAS — Sean Kilpatrick made all 16 of his free throws and scored 32 points, leading Cincinnati (5-0) in the semifinals of the Global Sports Classic.
Arizona State 83
Arkansas 68
LAS VEGAS — Carrick Felix scored a career-high 24 points to lead Arizona State (4-0) into the final of the Las Vegas Invitational.
Utah 67
Central Michigan 51
SALT LAKE CITY — Jarred DuBois scored a season-best 20 points and Glen Dean added 13 to lead Utah (3-1).
Stanford 66
Northern Iowa 50
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Chasson Randle broke out of a 3-point shooting slump and scored 21 points to lead Stanford (4-2) in the consolation semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
California 68
Georgia Tech 57
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Justin Cobbs scored 17 points, Richard Solomon got six of his 12 points down the stretch to help fuel a pivotal rally and Cal (5-0) advanced to the championship game of the DirecTV Classic.
