Eric Gordon scored 29 points and D.J. White added 18 points and 14 rebounds as No. 15 Indiana held off Georgia Tech 83-79 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Tuesday night at Assembly Hall.

The Hoosiers (5-1) led 38-34 at halftime, but the Yellow Jackets opened the second half on a 15-5 run to claim a 49-43 lead.

Gordon took over after Tech’s run and scored 15 of his 18 second half points in the final 13:04. Gordon played all 40 minutes and shot 7 of 14 from the field and 13 of 16 from the free throw line.

White played arguably his best game of the season, hitting 6 of 9 from the field and adding three blocks.

Lance Stemler found his way back into the starting lineup and had a season-high 15 points. Stemler hit 3 of 6 three-pointers in 32 minutes. Jamarcus Ellis also had 15 points and seven rebounds.

“My job on this team is to make other players better. It’s easy for me to score and just go to the basket like I did tonight. Without Jordan Crawford, I had no other choice but to be in attack mode,” Ellis said.

Lewis Clinch paced Georgia Tech with 18 points and Gani Lawai chipped in 17. The Yellow Jackets (3-3) shot 47 percent from the field but committed 13 turnovers and were out-rebounded 37-32.

Mike White saw his first action of the season for Indiana and scored two points and grabbed six rebounds in 20 minutes. Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson had announced that White would redshirt last week, but had a change of heart after the loss to Xavier.

“They (Xavier) just exposed how really immature and inexperienced we were. We just can’t go to the transaction wire and get somebody, we have somebody sitting right here that can help this team,” Sampson said.

Sampson also announced the suspension of guard Jordan Crawford prior to the game. Crawford will return December 8 against Kentucky.

Related:

• Box score
• Hoosiers Crawford out 3 games for violations

Opponent: Georgia Tech (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)

Date: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 | 7:02 EST

Arena: Assembly Hall (17,357) – Bloomington, Indiana

TV: ESPN (Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes and Stacey Dales)

Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Todd Leary and Joe Smith)

Probable Starters:

• Georgia Tech (3-2): Lewis Clinch, Anthony Morrow, D’Andre Bell, Jeremis Smith, Alade Aminu
• Indiana (4-1): Armon Bassett, Eric Gordon, Jamarcus Ellis, DeAndre Thomas, D.J. White

Game Notes (Adobe Reader required to view):

• Georgia Tech
• Indiana

As always, your predictions and comments are welcome in the game thread.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will make their first trip to Assembly Hall tonight to take on the No. 15 Hoosiers in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Tech is 3-2 on the season and is coming off a third place finish in the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. Tech’s losses came at home to UNC Greensboro and to Winthrop in the Paradise Jam.

The meeting will be the second all-time between the schools. Indiana beat Georgia Tech 87-65 on December 29, 1969 in the Bruin Classic at UCLA. Georgia Tech is 4-4 all-time in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and IU is 2-4.

Georgia Tech is expected to be a middle of the pack team in the ACC this season, evident by the media’s selection of the Yellow Jackets to finish seventh in the conference in a preseason poll.

They finished 20-12 a season ago and lost their two best players, Thaddeus Young (Philadelphia 76ers, 12th pick) and Javaris Crittenton (Los Angeles Lakers, 19th pick), to the NBA.

6-5 guard Anthony Morrow is the go-to-guy for Paul Hewitt’s team. The senior guard from Charlotte, NC is averaging 19.0 ppg and has hit a three-pointer in fourteen straight games dating back to last season.

Alade Aminu anchors the frontcourt for the Yellow Jackets. The 6-10 junior from Stone Mountain, GA is averaging 14.0 ppg and 6.8 rpg. Tech has two other players averaging in double figures: forward Jeremis Smith (12.2) and guard Lewis Clinch (11.0).

Two players will return from injury for Hewitt’s club: 6-8 sophomore Zack Peacock will see his first action of the season after missing the first five games with a stress reaction in his right foot and 6-1 freshman Moe Miller will also return. Miller started the first two games at point guard, but missed the Paradise Jam after bruising a bone in his lower back.

To learn more about the Georgia Tech program, click here.