Seeking a rebound from their second-half collapse against Baylor in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship when they lost a 22-point lead, the Cardinals held Purdue to a season-low 36 percent shooting but needed key baskets in the final minutes as the Boilermakers cut a 51-33 deficit to four with 14.4 seconds left.
Ryan McMahon's 3-pointer with 4 minutes remaining helped along with Mathiang's layup with 2:30 left, but Mitchell's late scoring including a 3 helped the Cardinals (6-1) escape with their first win over Purdue since 1996.
Caleb Swanigan had 14 points and 11 rebounds and P.J. Thompson had 13 points, but the Boilermakers (5-2) had their four-game winning streak stopped along with a conference-record seven-game winning streak in the Challenge.