MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Joey Dorsey learned his lesson in time to help No. 5 Memphis advance in the Conference USA Tournament.
Dorsey, who was pulled early of the first half for lackadaisical play, dominated inside after the break and the Tigers beat Houston 68-54 in the tournament semifinals Friday afternoon.
Dorsey finished with nine points and nine rebounds, which drew accolades and criticism for the sophomore. Memphis coach John Calipari shook his head at the difference in play and said he wants Dorsey to continue doing whatever he did at halftime in the semifinals.
"It's the best Joey Dorsey's ever been in his life, and we're all sitting here saying it wasn't enough," Calipari said. "... If he would just go out and play hard, he's unbelievable. When he's out there thinking about 'What do I look like,' he's not quite as good. We've got 29 wins, and if he ain't playing, we don't have 29 wins, believe me. He has dominated 10 or 12 of those games himself."
Shawne Williams had 23 points and eight rebounds for the Tigers. Williams, the conference freshman of the year, went 6-for-13 from the field and made nine of 10 free throws for the top-seeded Tigers (29-3). Rodney Carney, the conference player of the year, added 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting and connected on all three of his 3-pointers. Williams had four steals, while Carney had four blocks.
Oliver Lafayette led the Cougars with 20 points, including all 10 of his free throws. Lanny Smith and Ramon Dyer scored 12 for Houston (20-9), and Dyer had nine rebounds.
Houston shot 26 percent, making 7-of-33 from 3-point range. The Cougars managed five assists on their 14 field goals.
"We just kept coming up empty and empty and empty," Houston coach Tom Penders said. "You can't beat good teams when you shoot 25 percent. To beat a great team like Memphis, you have to shoot at least 40 (percent) and play great defense."
Dorsey went after a rebound with one hand and got beat down the floor in the game's first minute, leading Calipari to sit him down. The second half he had all nine of his points and eight rebounds.
"I didn't prepare myself," Dorsey said. "My effort wasn't there at the first of the game. I was getting lazy, and I let my team down.
"The second half my intensity was a lot higher, and I felt like I had to grab every rebound to stay on the floor with the team."
Williams and Dorsey helped the Tigers build a 50-42 lead in the second half. Dorsey began controlling the interior as Houston continued to struggle shooting. The Cougars hit their first 15 free throws in the game to stay close.
Houston was still within four after Smith connected on a 3-pointer with nine minutes left.
Memphis then went on a 14-4 run to build the lead to 60-46 when Dorsey scored inside with 4:17 left. Carney's dunk on a break two minutes later gave Memphis a 64-49 lead, sending the Tigers to the championship game Saturday.
"When we got up 10 and kept feeding the ball to the post and got those dunks, it just put the nail in the coffin," Williams said.
Memphis couldn't get anything going in the opening minutes as Houston caused six turnovers. Coupled with poor ball-handling, Memphis missed its first eight shots as Houston took an early 10-0 lead.
"When we were up by 10-0, we missed six or seven pretty good looks," Penders said. "We just didn't put them away when we had the opportunity to."
Calipari continually shuffled in substitutes trying to find some combination to score a bucket. It didn't come until reserve Robert Dozier connected on an 8-foot hook almost six minutes into the game.
That kickstarted a 14-2 run, capped by Williams' dunk off the Tigers' press to give Memphis its first lead.
Antonio Anderson made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Tigers a 30-26 lead at halftime.
