EUGENE, ORE. ? The fifth-ranked Oregon Ducks took advantage of their opportunities even though they weren’t at their best.

Ian Crosswhite scored 18 points and Luke Ridnour had 15 points, five rebounds and five assists to lead the Ducks to a 90-81 victory over No. 25 Minnesota on Sunday.

Oregon capitalized on first-half foul trouble for Gophers star Rick Rickert. The Ducks went on an 18-3 run — including 14-0 at one point — to take the lead for good with Rickert on the bench with three fouls.

“We were a very tired basketball team,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. “This team needed to let its character rise up and show through the adversity.”

Luke Jackson added 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Ducks (8-1), who won their 22nd consecutive home game, one off the school record set from 1937-39. The streak is the fifth-longest in the nation.

“The key to this game was the team effort,” Crosswhite said. “We stuck together, even when it was getting tough. I just go out and do whatever I can to help.”

Steve Esselink led the Gophers (6-2) with 18 points, all on 3-pointers. Jerry Holman had 17 points and Rickert, who had a career-high 28 points last year against Oregon, ended with eight points in 16 minutes before fouling out.

“Rick is one of those players that needs to be in the flow of the game to be successful; you can’t jerk him in and out of the lineup because of fouls,” said Minnesota coach Dan Monson of leaving Rickert in with two early fouls. “When you’re on the road against a team of this caliber, you’ve got to take some chances.”

Esselink hit four 3-pointers in a three-minute stretch to lead Minnesota’s comeback. The Gophers, playing for the first time in nine days, were able to get within three points with 3:11 left, but Oregon held on down the stretch.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever really gone off in a game like that,” Esselink said. “It’s really probably the best game I’ve had. Once I got going I just felt like I wanted to shoot again.”

No. 9 Notre Dame 93, Canisius 75

Oregon's Andre Joseph, left, guards Minnesota's Ben Johnson. The Ducks won, 90-81, on Sunday in Eugene, Ore.

South Bend, Ind. — Matt Carroll scored 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting and Dan Miller added a career-high 23 points to lead the Irish. Notre Dame shot 57 percent and went 12-of-26 from 3-point range. Miller was 6-of-9 and Carroll was 4-of-5.

No. 23 North Carolina 69, Florida St. 48

Tallahassee, Fla. — Jawad Williams scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half as North Carolina held off Florida State in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both. North Carolina (7-2) started the second half with a 9-2 run to go up 39-32 lead.

Late Saturday

No. 17 Stanford 77, UNLV 66

Las Vegas– Stanford coach Mike Montgomery earned his 500th career win as the Cardinal used a 20-6 run to break a second-half tie and defeat UNLV at the Las Vegas Showdown on Saturday night.