Dec. 16, 2007

Box Score

Bloomington, Ind. - Thirteenth-ranked Indiana put three players in double-figures, led by a game-high 26 points from freshman guard Eric Gordon as the Hoosiers handed Western Carolina a 100-52 defeat Saturday night in front of 13,142 fans at Assembly Hall, extending IU's home winning streak to 24, currently the fourth-longest in the nation.

Western put two players in double figures led by freshman guard Michael Porrini, who seemingly chased Gordon all over the court on the defensive end, with a hard-earned, career-high 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting. It was the eighth-straight game the rookie from Massillon, Ohio has scored in double-figures, having reached double digits in all but one game this season. Porrini also led the Catamounts (3-6) with seven rebounds, while also dishing out a pair of assists.

Senior Arnold Gore joined his frosh teammate in double figures with 16 points while freshman Blake Gallagher pulled down six rebounds while battling against the larger Hoosiers.

"Physically, at times, we were overmatched, and at times I didn't think we competed the way we had to compete," said WCU head coach Larry Hunter during post-game comments on the Catamount Sports Network. "(Indiana's) defense really took us out of our offense. At times we struggled to handle the ball and our execution would break down after one or two passes. They basically, most of the first half, took us away from the inside. In the second half we did things a little bit better. We got it in the paint and we were a little bit more efficient on offense, but the game was well over at that point."

He added, "The real bright spot for us was Michael Porrini. He showed a lot of competitive fire and his athleticism allowed him to get some things done. He was the one person that was able to take the ball and break down the defense a little bit and get in the paint and make others better or make a play for himself. He had 20 points and that was a hard-earned 20 because he was going against some pretty good athletes."

Western managed to hang close with its nationally-ranked foe for most of the opening 20 minutes before the Hoosiers mounted a late run to build their lead. Gore drained a jumper on a pass from sophomore Brandon Giles to close the deficit to within 10, 28-18 at the 7:36 mark of the first half, but that was as close as the Catamounts would get the remainder of the game.

Sparked by a dunk by senior D.J. White, Indiana (9-1) used an 11-0 run to push its advantage to 21 with four minutes showing before the half. Then, the Hoosiers outscored the Catamounts 13-to-3 over the final 3:49 to take a 28-point, 52-24, lead into intermission.

Out of the halftime locker room, WCU matched buckets with Indiana as both Gore and classmate Eric Wilson tallied lay-ups in the paint inside the first minute of the second half. But, a Catamount cold spell allowed IU to push the game out of reach. Down 26, 54-28, WCU was held without a bucket for four and a half minutes as Indiana tallied 15 unanswered points to go up 41, 69-28, and would eventually take a game-high edge of 51 twice en route to the victory.

In addition to Gordon's game-high 26 point, Indiana got 21 from forward D.J. White, who was coming off back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Week honors. White also led the Hoosiers with 11 rebounds marking his sixth-straight, double-double. Rounding out IU's double-digit scorers was Jordan Crawford with 19 and five assists.

The Catamounts committed 21 turnovers and were out rebounded by the Hoosiers, 50-to-24, falling to 0-10 lifetime against teams from the Big Ten.

Western Carolina continues its two-game road swing through the Big Ten on Monday night as it visits Illinois at 7:00 pm CT / 8:00 pm ET.