INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana State battled tough with nationally-ranked Purdue as part of the Boilermaker Blockbuster, but fell 65-52 in front of 7,666 fans at Conseco Fieldhouse.

ISU fell to 5-6 on the season while Purdue improved to 10-1.

The Sycamores were paced by Dwayne Lathan who scored 15 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Also in double figures scoring was Carl Richard who scored 11 points and pulled down six boards. Jake Kelly added six rebounds as well.

The Boilers were led JaJaun Johnson who scored 31 points, hitting 10-of-19 shots from the field and 11-of-12 free throw attempts. Johnson is the first Sycamore opponent to top the 30-point scoring mark since Illinois State's Osiris Eldridge did it in Feburary of 2008.

The Sycamores and Boilers battled back-and-forth for the entire first half with ISU taking a 30-29 lead with 1:34 left before the half on the seventh 4-point play of Aaron Carter's career. Purdue scored each of the final three points of the half to take a 32-30 lead into the break.
With 18:25 left in the contest, Lathan dazzled both fan bases with one of the biggest slam dunks in recent memory for ISU. Lathan posted a steal off of an E'Twaun Moore turnover and hit a windmill style dunk at the other end to make it 34-32. ISU would close to within 36-35 with 16:57 left on a traditional 3-point play by Richard, but Purdue built the lead back out to 45-37 with 12:15 to go on a Moore trey.

ISU scored the game's next five points, as Lathan hit a free throw, Kelly had a fastbreak lay-up and Richard connected on a jumper to make it 45-42 with 10:10 to go. After a Purdue basket, Lathan hit 1-of-2 free throws and then hit a jump shot in transition to make it 47-45 with 9:09 on the clock.

The Boilermakers scored the game's next six points at the free throw line to stretch the lead out to 53-45 with just under six minutes to go as part of a 9-0 run that virtually put the contest out of reach. ISU would close the lead down to nine points twice, and another dunk by Lathan with 30 seconds on the clock made the final score 65-52.

ISU lost the turnover battle in the contest, 18-7 as the Boilermakers scored 16 points off those miscues and the Sycamores scored just two off of Purdue mistakes. ISU continued its strong presence on the boards, winning that battle 44-40. The Sycamores have out-rebounded 8-of-11 opponents this season.

Indiana State opens Missouri Valley Conference play on December 29 when they host Bradley at Hulman Center. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m. (ET).