Nov. 27, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Hoosiers’ Eric Gordon scored 29 points and D.J. White added 18 to help Indiana rally past Georgia Tech 83-79 on Tuesday night.
Jamarcus Ellis scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half for the 15th-ranked Hoosiers in their 21st straight regular-season win at Assembly Hall. It also was the Big Ten’s first victory in this year’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Georgia Tech (3-3) was led by Lewis Clinch with 18 points. Anthony Morrow and Gani Lawal each added 17. The Yellow Jackets also had more depth after getting two injured players, center Zack Peacock and guard Maurice Miller, back in the lineup.
Peacock missed the first five games with a stress reaction in his right foot, while Miller sat out the past three games with a bruised bone in his back.
Indiana (5-1), coming off its first loss of the season, committed five turnovers in the first four minutes and allowed Georgia Tech to build a 26-18 lead. But the Hoosiers used a late 15-3 run to take a 38-34 halftime lead.
Then, Indiana got sluggish again.
Georgia Tech scored the first nine points of the second half to regain a 43-38 lead, before Indiana started getting some nifty drives from Gordon and Ellis.
The strategy eventually opened things up down low for White and on the perimeter for Indiana’s outside shooters. Lance Stemler’s 3-pointer with 7:20 to go not only gave Indiana a 60-58 lead, but also sparked an 11-2 run that gave the Hoosiers control with a 68-60 lead.
Georgia Tech got as close as 68-64 and was within five with less than a minute left, but the Hoosiers relied on late free-throw shooting to seal the victory.
Indiana played without freshman guard Jordan Crawford, whose three-game suspension was announced just minutes before the game started. Crawford was averaging 12.6 points off the bench and left the Hoosiers thin in the backcourt.
Stemler finished with 15 points and hit three 3-pointers, while Gordon connected on 13 of 16 free throws. White had 14 rebounds, and Ellis had seven.
Jeremis Smith had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Georgia Tech, which has lost four of five road games in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
