TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State allowed just two Drake field goals over the final nine minutes of the game as the Sycamores earned a 61-54 victory over the Bulldogs in front of 5,445 fans inside Hulman Center.

ISU has now won three consecutive games to improve to 14-9, 5-7 MVC and are just one game out of a third place logjam of four teams that sport a 6-6 conference mark. Drake fell to 13-10, 6-6 MVC with the loss.

ISU was led in scoring by Dwayne Lathan for the second consecutive game as he posted 15 points and was a perfect 7-of-7 at the free throw line as well for the second straight outing. Jake Odum tallied 14 points to also reach double figures scoring.

The Sycamore defense held the Bulldogs to just 18-of-54 shooting, for 33.3 percent. That performance tops the previous season-best when the Sycamores limited Northern Iowa to just 36 percent shooting in ISU's last home contest. Drake hit just 8-of-27 shots from the field (29.6 percent) in the opening half.

ISU poured in 44.9 percent of their shots (22-of-49) and were 15-of-18 from the free throw line. ISU out-rebounded the Bulldogs by a 37-32 margin and out-scored Drake 36-16 in the paint.

The 54 points allowed plus the victory improved the Sycamores to 9-0 on the year when the defense holds a team to 63 points or less and are a perfect 24-0 when limiting teams under that benchmark under Greg Lansing.

ISU is now 19-5 at Hulman Center under Lansing's guidance, including an 11-4 mark in MVC home contests. The Sycamores have won seven of their last eight games against Drake, including a four in a row at home against the Bulldogs. ISU now owns at least a three-game MVC winning streak in each of the last six seasons.

ISU's defense was impressive throughout, but the Sycamores limited the Bulldogs to just two field goals in the final nine minutes. Drake hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute which were its first since Ben Simons converted a conventional 3-point play at the 9:01 mark.

That play by Simons cut the Sycamore lead down to just 47-46 and a Jeremy Jeffers free throw with 7:55 to go knotted the score at 47-47. Lucas Eitel hit a pair of charity tosses with 6:06 to go to stake ISU to a 49-47 advantage that they would not relinqish.

Odum buried a jumper with 3:58 left that put ISU ahead 51-47 and Rayvonte Rice hit 1-of-2 free throws on Drake's next possession to cut the the lead down to 51-48. Drake would not score again until Rice hit a trey with 44 seconds left, but in the meantime ISU got a lay-up from Lathan with 2:09 remaining and he hit 2-of-2 free throws with 51 seconds to go to put ISU ahead 55-48.

Rice's trey made it 55-51 and Lathan again hit both of his free throws with 41 seconds left to stretch the lead out to 57-51. Kurt Alexander connected on a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left to trim the lead down to 57-54, but he Sycamores closed it out with two free throws each from Eitel and Lathan for the 61-54 victory.

ISU found itself down 18-2 in the contest earlier this season at the Knapp Center, but this time it was the Sycamores' that got off to a fast start scoring each of the game's first six points, including a jumper by Odum less than a minute in to get the Sycamores on the board first. Odum would hit another to make it 8-2 in favor of the Sycamores with 16:04 left in the opening stanza, but Drake stayed the course and cut hte ISU lead down to 12-10 on a jumper by Ben Simons at the 13:11 mark.

The Sycamores would go on to score the game's next six points for an 18-10 cushion with 9:30 left and then ISU went on its third 6-0 run of the first half to take its largest lead of the game at 26-15 on a trey by RJ Mahurin with 4:41 to go. Drake got as close as three points twice in the final three minutes, including a 29-26 lead with 2:04 to go.

ISU got a free throw by Steve McWhorter and a bucket with 55 seconds left from McWhorter to take a 32-26 lead into the locker room.

Drake got off to the fast start in the second half and scored the first seven points after halftime to take its first lead of the game at 33-32 with 18:39 to go on a jumper by Rice. Drake knotted it again at 47 but never led again in the game as ISU retook the lead for good with 17:25 to go on a conventional 3-point play by Odum.

Drake was led in scoring by by Rice who scored 17 points while simons added 13.

The Sycamores travel to Wichita State on Saturday, February 4 for a 10:05 p.m. (ET) start. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.