Behind Rodney Williams’ team-high 18 points, Minnesota erased a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat DePaul 86-85 Thursday in the first round of the Old Spice Classic at HP Field House in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

With the win, the Gophers improved to 5-0 for the second time in the last two years and will now advance to play Indiana State in the semifinals. The Sycamores (5-0) won earlier in the day against Texas Tech, which will take on DePaul in the consolation bracket.

Trailing by three, DePaul had a chance to tie in the closing seconds, but Moses Morgan’s 3-pointer caromed off the rim. Krys Faber got the offensive rebound and putback with six-tenths of a second left, but Minnesota inbounded to run out the clock.

Trevor Mbakwe had 10 of his 16 points in the second half to lead Minneosta, which trailed 43-33 at halftime but tied the game with 8:02 left in the second half. From there, the Gophers led by as many as four points but couldn’t shake free of the Blue Demons, who hung close behind 51.6 percent shooting.

But DePaul, led by Brandon Young’s game-high 23 points, couldn’t regain the lead down the stretch. On one possession, the Blue Demons missed three straight attempts.

Cleveland Melvin finished with 20 points and Faber had 10 points and a team-high 13 rebounds for the Blue Demons, who came into the game on 10 days rest.

Austin Hollins and Julian Welch each had 11 for the Gophers.