WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ? Indiana State was up against its second nationally-ranked opponent of the week on Saturday when the team traveled to near-by West Lafayette to face off against No. 14 ranked Purdue. The Sycamores (1-8) played tough against their Big Ten Conference counterparts, but 22 points off ISU turnovers helped the Boilermakers (8-2) to a 76-62 win in front of a loud crowd at Mackey Arena.
Purdue held an early 5-2 lead before a three pointer by Rashad Reed tied up the game at 5-5 just under three minutes into the game. The Boilermakers then answered with a three of their own from E'Twaun Moore to take an 8-5 lead, but a jumper from Jay Tunnell and another three from Reed put the Sycamores up 10-8 at the 15:19 mark of the first half.
ISU maintained a slim lead over the next three minutes of play, eventually taking a 20-17 lead on a jumper from Tyler Cutter. Lewis Jackson then made a bucket for Purdue to cut the lead to one, before he converted on a traditional three-point play to give his team the lead back at 22-20 with 9:34 left in the half.
A three-pointer from Robbie Hummel then put Purdue up 25-20, before two free throws from Harry Marshall cut the lead back to three. The Boilermakers would then jump out to a 28-22 lead, before a jumper from Aaron Carter cut the lead back to four points. That lead would eventually grow to 35-27 after a free throw by Moore, before a three-pointer by Jordan Printy cut the lead back to five points at 35-30 with 1:14 left in the half. A jumper from Hummel with 50 seconds remaining would then give Purdue a 37-30 advantage, which is where the score stayed until halftime.
ISU came out of the locker room at the half and scored the first four points of the half. Tunnell made two quick buckets to cut the Purdue lead to 37-34 just a minute in. However, those would be the last points for ISU over the next eight minutes, as Purdue went on a 13-0 run to widen the lead to 50-34. Marshall then took the ball for the Sycamores and nailed a three-pointer and was fouled in the act. After making his free throw, the lead was cut to 12 points at 50-38 at the 10:59 mark.
Purdue controlled for the remainder of the half and eventually widened its lead to 69-50 with 3:45 left in the game on a bucket by JaJuan Johnson. ISU answered with a layup by Martin and three-pointer from Carter to cut the lead to 14 and then added two free throws from Marshall to make the score 69-57 with 2:14 left in the game.
Martin came right back and added another layup to cut the lead to 69-59, before Hummel hit two free throws to give Purdue a 71-59 lead with 1:29 left on the clock. Tunnell then knocked down a three-pointer to keep the Sycamores in the game and cut the lead to nine at 71-62 with 1:20 remaining.
From there, the Sycamores were forced to foul and the Boilermakers converted on five of their last foul shots to secure the 76-62 win over their in-state rivals. Marshall led the way for the Sycamores in his first game of the season with 16 points and six assists. Tunnell added 11 points and five rebounds in the effort for ISU and Martin rounded out a trio of Sycamores in double figures with 10 points. Hummel led all scorers with 25 points on 7-for-13 shooting, while Johnson added 12 points and Jackson finished with 11 for Purdue.
The Sycamores return to action at home on Saturday, December 20, against in-state foe DePauw. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. on Nellie and John Wooden Court at the Hulman Center.
