BLOOMINGTON – Chattanooga coach John Shulman had a suggestion for Indiana’s promotion staff.

“They should have given out (Eric Gordon) posters,” Shulman said. “I’d get mine autographed.”

Eric Gordon set a school record for points in a freshman debut, scoring 33 in a 99-79 victory against the Mocs on Monday.

Eric Gordon came just three points shy of the most points any IU freshman has scored in a game. Jay Edwards holds that mark with 36 in 1988.

“I was feeling it early, but I expect myself to score points and bring the defense like coach told me to do,” Eric Gordon said.

Chants of “Eric Gordon” rang through Assembly Hall following a dunk early in the second half. It was much more welcoming than the handful of boos the team heard as it left the court at halftime.

The No. 8 Hoosiers avoided the fate like former ranked teams Kentucky and Southern Cal, erasing a four-point halftime deficit to win their 23rd consecutive home opener.

“I thought it was a perfect game for this team. You couldn’t have scripted it any better,” IU coach Kelvin Sampson said. “I didn’t mind the 46 we had (at halftime), but the 50 we gave up and the way we gave them up. The turnovers, the shots – sometimes a bad shot is a turnover. But you know what, all that is a positive. It’s Nov. 12. … It’s great to see us respond like we did in the second half.”

IU turned it around defensively. Chattanooga shot 56.8 percent from the floor in the first half, but just 33.3 percent after the break. The Hoosiers made a couple of switches, starting DeAndre Thomas and sticking Eric Gordon on Kevin Bridgewaters.

The Mocs point guard was unstoppable in the first half, hitting all six of his shots on the way to 14 points. That’s how many points he finished with after attempting just one shot in the second half.

“He manhandled our point guards,” Shulman said. “We couldn’t get off a ball screen, we couldn’t get off a play. He has great size, feet. He was dominating defensively, which disrupted everything we wanted offensively.”

All five of Bridgewaters’ turnovers came in the second half.

“He’s a monster,” Sampson said of Eric Gordon. “That’s where he’s made his biggest strides, defensively.”

IU also cut down on the turnovers. The Hoosiers had 10 in the first half and just three more the rest of the way. IU outscored Chattanooga 53-29 in the second half.

Armon Bassett added 20. D.J. White (17), Jordan Crawford (13) and Thomas (11) also reached double figures in scoring.

White left the game after taking a spill with 6:09 left in the second half. He receieved stitches near his left eye.

IU made 14 three-pointers, seven by Eric Gordon.

“We saw a pretty good player out there. You talk about a mature freshman,” Shulman said. “Hopefully we don’t have to play against any of him in our league.”

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