Bloomington, Ind. ? Indiana fans welcomed Eric Gordon by chanting his name Monday night. The highly touted freshman responded with an opening act that lived up to the billing.
Gordon finished with 33 points, the most ever by an Indiana player in his college debut, and it was his play at both ends of the court that eventually helped the eighth-ranked Hoosiers beat Chattanooga, 99-79, in their season opener.
“If he plays like he did tonight, we’ll be OK,” coach Kelvin Sampson said, drawing laughter. “He’s going to play hard every night, and the thing I like is that he practices at the same pace every day. When I was at Michigan State, Magic Johnson was like that. There’s a reason those guys are good.”
While the comparisons to Johnson are premature, Gordon proved to everyone Monday why he was considered one of the highest-rated recruits a year ago. He made spectacular plays on offense, delivered a shutdown performance on defense and eclipsed the previous debut record that belonged to former NBA player George McGinnis, who scored 26 points against Eastern Michigan on Dec. 1, 1970.
Gordon’s final line: 9-of-15 from the field, 7-of-11 on 3-pointers, six rebounds, four assists.
Numbers didn’t tell the whole story, though. He ignited Indiana’s second-half charge and prompted Mocs coach John Shulman to admit he couldn’t do anything on offense or defense to stop Gordon.
“This is not an easy atmosphere for anyone to come in, especially on Eric Gordon freshman night,” Shulman said. “They should have given out posters. I’d get mine autographed. He was terrific. I had no answer.”
No. 2 UCLA 83, Youngstown St. 52.
Los Angeles – Kevin Love scored 21 points, Lorenzo Mata-Real added 14 points and 14 rebounds, and UCLA trounced Youngstown State in the first round of the CBE Classic on Monday night.
The Bruins (2-0) extended their home winning streak to 22 games with their second blowout victory. Love just missed his second double-double, grabbing nine rebounds. He made his college debut with 22 points and 13 rebounds in a 21-point victory over Portland State on Friday.
UCLA will play Division II Cal State-San Bernardino, which beat Weber State 71-59, in today’s second round. The winner advances to the semifinals Nov. 19 in Kansas City.
No. 10 Marquette 66, Utah Valley 55
Milwaukee – Dominic James scored 13 points, including the 1,000th of his career, and Marquette shook off a halftime deficit to beat Utah Valley. James hit a 3-pointer with 4:20 to play that gave the Golden Eagles (2-0) a 57-50 lead. Joe Walker of Utah Valley hit one free throw, and Marquette’s Wesley Matthews responded with a lean-in jumper that made it 59-51 with 4:20 remaining.
No. 11 Oregon 97, W. Michigan 88.
Eugene, Ore. – Senior forward Malik Hairston scored a career-high 29 points to lead Oregon over Western Michigan in the World Vision Invitational.
Joevan Catron recorded a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Ducks (3-0), while Maarty Leunen added 18 points, and Bryce Taylor had 17.
Hairston was 9-of-11 from the field and 8-for-13 from the line.
No. 13 Duke 86, New Mexico State 61
Durham, N.C. – Jon Scheyer scored 22 points to lead Duke to its second straight rout of an outmanned nonconference opponent. DeMarcus Nelson scored 14 points, Gerald Henderson had 11, and Kyle Singler added 10 for the Blue Devils (2-0), who shot 47 percent, forced 26 turnovers and built a 31-point lead.
