Hammons helps Purdue down Ball State, 66-56

A.J. Hammons scored 15 points to help Purdue defeat Ball State 66-56 on Tuesday night. Terone Johnson scored 14 points, D.J. Byrd and Ronnie Johnson scored 11 each and Jacob Lawson added six points and 11 rebounds for the Boilermakers (5-6). Purdue had lost two straight and was coming off an 81-68 loss to Notre Dame.

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Purdue struggled to shake the Cardinals, but a late run put the game away. A loss would have guaranteed the Boilermakers a losing nonconference record.

Jesse Berry scored 22 points and Marcus Posley added 11 for the Cardinals (5-5).

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A.J. Hammons slam home alley-oop:

FINAL: Jesse Berry scored 22 points, but it wasn't enough to lead Ball State past Purdue, as Cardinals fell 66-56 on Tuesday at Mackey Arena. A.J. Hammons sparked Purdue (5-6), as he contributed 15 points and knocked down 6-of-8 shot attempts in the win. D.J. Byrd had a quality shooting game, nailing 4-of-6 shots from the field and scoring 11 points. The Boilermakers shot 17-of-25 from the free throw line. Purdue also got double-digit contributions from Terone Johnson (14 points) and Ronnie Johnson (11).

HALFTIME: A.J. Hammons has 10 points to lead Purdue to a 27-21 lead over Ball State at the end of the first half. The Cardinals led 11-10 when the Boilermakers went on an 8-0 run to take a seven-point lead, one it held the rest of the half. Terone Johnson scored six point for the Boilers, although it came on a 3-of-9 performance from the field.