BLOOMINGTON, IND. ? Highly-touted freshman guard Eric Gordon poured in 30 points on a variety of moves and eighth-ranked Indiana capitalized on 26 turnovers by visiting UNC Wilmington to race past the Seahawks, 95-71, Tuesday night at historic Assembly Hall.
The Hoosiers kept their record clean at 3-0 with their 20th consecutive home victory in the second round matchup of the Chicago Invitational Challenge. UNCW dropped its second straight on the four-game road trip to the Upper Midwest and stands 1-2 in the new campaign.
Gordon, who scored a combined 54 points in his first two games, continued his impressive college debut by connecting on 8-of-12 shots and 12-of-13 at the free throw line for his 30-point total. Sophomore guard Armon Bassett added 19 points, freshman guard Jordan Crawford had 15, senior forward D.J. White scored 12 and junior forward DeAndre Thomas chipped in 11 as the Hoosiers placed five men in double figures.
Senior forward Todd Hendley paced the Seahawks with 20 points and drained all 10 of his free throw attempts. Freshman floor general Chad Tomko scored a career-high 17 points and senior center Vladimir Kuljanin contributed 14 for the Seahawks.
The Seahawks threw a brief scare into the high octane Hoosiers early before Kelvin Sampson's club wiped out a six-point deficit midway through the first half with a suffocating 21-2 run. IU stretched the lead to 20 points at intermission, 52-32, and kept UNCW's offense in check the remainder of the game.
UNCW canned seven of its first nine shots in the first five minutes to build a 10-point lead against the stunned Hoosiers. Senior guard Daniel Fountain's layup at 15:26 gave the Seahawks an 18-8 cushion and a layup on the right side by Hendley made the score 24-18 at the 9:51 mark.
But the Hoosiers, sparked by Bassett, used runs of 9-0 and 12 points in a 21-2 spurt that put some distance between the two teams. IU scored 24 points off 17 turnovers by UNCW in the opening 20 minutes to eventually break away from the stubborn Seahawks.
Indiana enjoyed its biggest lead, 88-56, with 7:01 remaining when Gordon, who converted 12-of-13 free throws, made a pair at the charity stripe. The final margin of 24 points was the closest the Seahawks would come down the stretch.
The Seahawks are idle the next two days before returning to the court on Friday with a 1 p.m. clash against Longwood (2-3) at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill. UNCW then wraps up its appearance in the eight-team event on Saturday against either Southeast Missouri State or Coppin State outside the Windy City.
UNCW-IU Post-Game Notes: IU improved to 3-0 all-time against UNCW...Senior guard T.J. Carter and freshman forward Dominique Lacy both fouled out in the game...Rookie point guard Chad Tomko sank 5-of-7 triples...Freshman walk-on Jason Aycock played for the first time this season...Seven different players scored for the Seahawks...The matchup, aired by the Big Ten Network, was the first of 14 televised games for the Seahawks this season...UNCW allowed an opponent (Eric Gordon-30 points) to score 30 points for the second straight game...The Seahawks had 26 turnovers and IU committed 16 miscues...UNCW has made 35-of-40 free throws in the last two games vs. Illinois State and Indiana...T.J. Carter's six rebounds led the Seahawks vs. IU...Todd Hendley played a team-high 33 minutes in the contest...UNCW outrebounded IU, 28-25, and had a 9-4 advantage on the offensive glass.
