WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ? After an 89-70 win over the Purdue Boilermakers last year at Hulman Center, the Indiana State men's basketball team headed into West Lafayette looking to extend its winning streak over their Big Ten opponents on Saturday. The Sycamores (3-3) led the Boilermakers (4-1) at the half and held that lead all the way to the 7:55 mark in the second half, until Purdue rallied on its home court for a 71-60 non-conference win at Mackey Arena in front of 14,077 fans.
The two squads battled to start the game, with neither team giving in. Robbie Hummel's basket at the 17:37 mark put Purdue up 6-2 early and the lead would eventually grow to 10 points at 20-10 on a three-pointer by Hummel. However, the Sycamores crept back on the heels of an 11-3 run, as three-straight points from sophomore Harry Marshall cut the Purdue lead to 23-21 with 7:06 left in the half.
Purdue then fought back and widened the lead to six points at 32-26 on a Tarrance Crump basket with 3:08 left on the clock. ISU freshman Isiah Martin quickly answered that score with one of his own to cut the lead to four points, as Marshall took over to close out the half for the Sycamores. The reserve point guard scored the next seven points to give ISU its first lead of the game at 35-32 with 59 seconds left on the clock. E'Twaun Moore then came down the floor and drained a three-pointer to knot the game at 35-35 with 38 seconds left, causing ISU head coach Kevin McKenna to call a time out.
The Sycamores designed a play in the huddle and it worked, as Martin took a Gabe Moore pass and slammed it home for the alley-oop dunk to send ISU into the locker room leading Purdue 37-35 at the half. Marshall had a great half, leading all scorers with 14 points and two steals off the bench, while Martin added eight points in his second career start.
ISU came out of the locker room composed and led by seven points at 44-37 three minutes into the second half. However, the Boilermakers rallied and cut the lead to one point at 44-43 on a basket by Moore. Once again, it was Marshall who answered back for the Sycamores, as he drained a three-pointer to extend the lead to four points at 47-43. Later in the half, two made free throws by senior Todd McCoy maintained the four-point lead at 54-50 with 8:43 left on the clock.
However, that's when the Boilermakers broke out and went on an 11-0 run, capped off by a Scott Martin three-pointer, to take a seven-point lead at 61-54. Following a basket from junior Adam Arnold that cut the Purdue lead to five at 61-56, the Boilermakers went on an 8-0 run to lead the Sycamores 69-56 with just 1:32 left in the game. That lead would prove to be too much and ISU fell to Purdue by the final score of 71-60.
Marshall led ISU and all scorers in the game with a career-high 20 points and added four rebounds and three steals to cap the game. He was joined in double figures by Martin, who finished with 14 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots. Nemanja Calasan led Purdue with 16 points and six rebounds and was one of five Boilermakers in double figures.
The Sycamores return to action on Tuesday, December 4, when they travel to Oxford, Ohio, to take on the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks in a non-conference match up. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Millet Hall.
