Hoosiers drop final game of Chicago Invitational Challenge

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Poor shooting, sloppy play and foul trouble plagued the IU men’s basketball team during its 80-65 loss against Xavier in the championship of the Chicago Invitational Challenge on Saturday night.\nFreshman guard Eric Gordon – the catalyst of the IU offense – picked up three fouls midway through the first half, and the Musketeers capitalized on his absence.\nXavier went on a 13-3 run at the end of the first half.\nXavier forward B.J. Raymond scored 12 points in the first half, including a Christian Laettner-esque turnaround jumper at the buzzer to send Xavier into halftime with a 40-29 lead. \nThough Gordon spent a good portion of the first half on the bench with foul trouble, the star freshman was ice cold from the field in the opening minutes, scoring just four points on a 1-for-6 shooting performance.\nGordon played the entire second half with much more offensive success, but the Hoosiers could not stop Xavier’s offense after the break. \nThe 15-point loss is the first on the year for the No. 8 Hoosiers, and is the most lopsided loss in Sampson’s two-year tenure at IU.\nLook for a full report in Monday's Indiana Daily Student.