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White, Gordon continue road success for Indiana

Feb 10, 2008 - 9:46 PM COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- D.J. White kept Indiana rolling on the road.

White scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the 13th-ranked Hoosiers picked up a third straight win with a 59-53 victory over Ohio State in the Big Ten Conference on Sunday.

Freshman Eric Gordon added 15 points for Indiana (20-3, 9-1 Big Ten), which following up on a tough 83-79 double-overtime win at Illinois to improve to 5-1 in conference road games.

With the victory, the Hoosiers clinched their first winning record on the road since the 2001-02 season.

The decision also proved significant for the Buckeyes, as their 19-game home winning streak in league play was snapped. Ohio State's previous loss at the Value City Arena against a Big Ten opponent was a double-overtime setback to Michigan State on January 15, 2006.

"We just didn't have what we needed against a team like Indiana," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "They are a great team. We weren't capable of making plays that we needed to make. We played better the second half but it wasn't enough."

Although leading scorer Gordon connected on three of his first six 3-pointers, Indiana held a mere 23-19 advantage with just under four minutes left in the first half. That was when White provided some inside muscle, scoring his team's final six points for a 29-21 advantage at the half.

"We are also lucky to have a senior like D.J.," Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson said. "He is what keeps this team going and the reason we have continued to improve."

White added another basket in the opening moments of the second half to extend the lead to 10 points, but the Buckeyes followed with a charge, going on an 8-0 run.

Indiana managed to rebuild a cushion by double digits, but found Ohio State within 46-43 after freshman Evan Turner split two free throws with 5:44 to play.

White answered with a three-point play, and freshman Jordan Crawford's jumper with 2:32 remaining made it 53-45.

"He had good position and did a great job finishing," Matta said. "He had the energy back like I had seen when we he was a freshman."

Ironically, White's basket and foul gave Indiana its first free-throw attempt of the contest. Overall, the Hoosiers had just seven shots from the stripe, converting all of them.

"Sometimes you just have to take what the defense gives you," Sampson said. "We had a few shot selection problems today, but for the most part we played smart, had good shot selection and did a good job taking what they gave us.

"You always shoot more free throws against a man-to-man defense rather than a zone also."

Ohio State, which entered the matchup with four wins in five games, made another push following Othello Hunter's tip shot that cut the deficit to 53-49 with 1:29 remaining.

However, freshman Jon Diebler traveled on the Buckeyes' next possession and Gordon converted the first two of four straight free throws with 30 seconds left to help seal the win.

White finished 10-of-15 from the field and pulled down six offensive boards en route to his fourth double-double in his last five games. The junior forward is averaging 19.6 points and 12.4 rebounds over that span.

Despite scoring in double figures for the 14th straight game, Gordon continues to be hampered by his injured left wrist. He finished 4-of-10 from the field, and is shooting 30 percent (7-of-23) in his last two games.

Freshman Kosta Koufos had 18 points and nine rebounds and Diebler scored 14 for Ohio State (16-8, 7-4), which shot 40 percent (21-of-53) from the field.