Eric Gordon was worth the wait for Indiana fans. The highly touted guard set his first school record Monday night by scoring 33 points in his college debut, and D.J. White added 17 points to help the eighth-ranked Hoosiers beat Chattanooga 99-79. Gordon, who originally committed to Illinois before changing his mind and signing with Indiana, put on a show that rekindled images of former Hoosiers stars such as Isiah Thomas and Calbert Cheaney. In fact, Gordon outdid even those notable names and nearly matched the school's freshman scoring record of 36 points set by Jay Edwards in 1988.

Gordon was 9-of-15 from the field and had seven 3-pointers, six rebounds and four assists and ignited the second-half charge that finally helped the Hoosiers (1-0) pull away. And defensively, he took away everything Chattanooga tried to do in the second half.

Kevin Bridgewaters had 14 points and Kevin Goffney added 13 for Chattanooga (1-1), which lost for the 19th consecutive time to a ranked opponent on the road.

But until Gordon got the second-half rally going, the Hoosiers struggled to take control against the quicker Mocs.

Chattanooga erased a 29-18 Indiana lead late in the first half by methodically closing the gap and then using a 12-0 run to take a 44-40 lead with 3:39 left in the half. The near-capacity crowd at Assembly Hall was so frustrated with Indiana's 50-46 deficit, there was a smattering of boos.

When White and Gordon opened the second half with back-to-back dunks, though, the fans were back on their feet.

Eventually, the Hoosiers built a modest six-point lead before Gordon hit a key 3-pointer in the in the middle of an 11-6 run that gave the Hoosiers a 78-67 lead with 9:12 to go.

The only scare Indiana got the rest of the way was when White crashed hard to the floor and sustained a cut over his left eye with 6:09 left. As he was led to the locker room with a towel over his head, White gave a thumbs-up to the crowd.

It was Indiana's sixth-highest point total in a season-opener.