Lamar Wilkerson scored 19 points and Nick Dorn added 18 as Indiana handed No. 12 Purdue its third straight loss, a 72-67 decision on Tuesday in Bloomington, Ind.
The Hoosiers (14-7, 5-5 Big Ten) led 65-55 with 5:23 left after a layup by Wilkerson and hung on from there. Indiana has won two straight after a four-game skid.
The Boilermakers pulled within 65-63 with 1:31 to go on Braden Smith’s layup, but Conor Enright drilled a 3-pointer with 1:12 remaining to extend the Hoosiers’ margin.
Indiana got two free throws apiece from Enright and Wilkerson in the final 23 seconds to seal the outcome. Purdue (17-4, 7-3) was unable to take advantage of a game-high 23 points from Trey Kaufman-Renn and 14 from Smith.
Indiana hit 12 of 33 (36.4%) from the 3-point arc and made 14 of 19 foul shots (73.7%). The Boilermakers sank just 8 of 15 at the line (53.3%) and 7 of 20 from long distance (35%).
The pregame storylines involved 3-point shooting for both teams. Could Indiana take advantage of Purdue’s inability to guard the arc during losses at UCLA and at home vs. Illinois? And could the Boilermakers run the Hoosiers off the arc as Rutgers couldn’t on Friday, when Indiana made 15 treys in an 82-59 rout?
The answers in the first half trended toward Indiana. Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries nailed consecutive 3-pointers to fuel a 13-0 run that gave the Hoosiers a 32-23 advantage after Jasai Miles drained a 3-pointer. Indiana outscored Purdue 24-9 from the arc in the half.
The proceedings ended on brand when Wilkerson knocked down a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left in the half, enabling the Hoosiers to take a 40-29 cushion to the break.
–Field Level Media
