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Gordon helps Indiana bounce back from first loss

Nov 28, 2007 - 4:33 AM BLOOMINGTON, Indiana (Ticker) -- Freshman Eric Gordon helped Indiana bounce back from its first loss of the season.

Gordon scored 29 points and D.J. White had 18 and 14 rebounds as the 15th-ranked Hoosiers defeated Georgia Tech, 83-79, as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday.

The Hoosiers outrebounded the Yellow Jackets by five and had 18 more free-throw attempts than their opponents, which coach Kelvin Sampson thought played a large role in the outcome.

"I thought a big key for us tonight was that we had to win the rebounding and we had to get to the free-throw line," Sampson said. "Those were two areas that we had to be good in.

"Georgia Tech is good. They are really, really athletic and long and they have guys that can shoot."

Jamarcus Ellis scored 12 of his season-high 15 points in the second half for the Hoosiers, who snapped a four-game skid in the annual event between the ACC and Big Ten.

Indiana (5-1), which suffered an 80-65 setback to Xavier on Saturday, trailed during the early stages of the second half.

Ellis made a pair of free throws to give Indiana a 54-53 lead with 8:50 remaining before Lewis Clinch hit a pair of jumpers to move the Yellow Jackets back in front.

The Hoosiers took the lead for good with an 11-2 run - keyed by two 3-pointers by Lance Stemler - to take a 68-60 lead with 5:18 to play.

"We knew we had to come out and attack and never quit," Stemler said. "We knew we had to come out and play with a lot of heart. They are a really good, athletic team, so we knew we had to come out and compete with them."

Anthony Morrow made a 3-pointer to pull the Yellow Jackets within four before Gordon scored six of Indiana's next eight points to give the Hoosiers a 76-67 lead with 3:12 to play.

The Yellow Jackets never cut their deficit to less than four points during the final 5:41 of the game as Gordon made 4-of-4 free throws in the final minute.

"I'm disappointed with the outcome, but I'm very happy with our team's effort," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. "It's a tough effort that you have to put out if you're going to be a good basketball team."

Clinch scored 18 points to lead Georgia Tech, which has lost two of its last three.

Gani Lawal scored 10 of Georgia Tech's first 26 points as the Yellow Jackets held an early 26-18 lead. Indiana went on an 11-0 run to take a 36-29 advantage and led by four points at the break.

White and Gordon had 14 and 11 points, respectively, to lead the Hoosiers in the first half.

"D.J. likes playing against good teams, and you can tell," Sampson said. "We can't play the way we are playing without him. We have to get the ball to him, whether it is inside-out or outside-in. The outside isn't very good without the inside."

Georgia Tech (3-3) scored the first nine points after intermission and maintained a lead until Ellis' two free throws gave Indiana a one-point lead with under nine minutes to play.

"Late in the first half, our shot selection hurt us," Hewitt said. "I thought in the second half, we did a good job of getting the ball where we wanted it. They ran the zone, I think, one time. They didn't surprise us."

Lawal and Morrow each finished with 17 points for the Yellow Jackets, who made just 11-of-20 from the foul line.