SPRINGFIELD, Ohio-- On the second day of the 2015 Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic, the Wittenberg Tiger's fell 55-49 to NAIA opponent Purdue-Calumet. The Tigers got off to a slow start offensively in the first-half, but managed to erase a 16 point deficet in the second-half to pull within two points late. The hard fought second half efforts came up short for Wittenberg, as Purdue-Cal managed to hold on down the stretch.

GAME BREAKDOWN

• Riley McDonald (Dexter, Michigan/Dexter) and Michelle Brunswick (Mechanicsburg, Ohio/Northeastern) combined for 11 rebounds in the first-half, helping give the Tigers the rebounding edge 25-18 over Purdue-Calumet.
• Becca Ziska (Brook Park, Ohio/Berea-Midpark) led all Tiger scorers at the break with five points at the break.
• Purdue Calumet took a 27-13 lead into the break, but it was Wittenberg who came out of the locker-room hot, going on a 5-0 run to start the third-quarter.
• The Tigers were down by as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter before Taylore Bundy (Lewis Center, Ohio/ Olentangy Orange,) Brunswick, and Ziska combined for 15 points in nearly four minutes to get the Purdue Cal lead down to 51-49 with 30 seconds remaining in regulation.
• In the end, Wittenberg's hard-fought efforts fell short as Purdue-Cal hung on to a 55-49 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• After being held scoreless in the first-half, Taylore Bundy led the charge in the second half, tallying 12 points and four rebounds.
• The Tigers were outrebounded 43-39
• Wittenberg distributed well down the stretch, totaling 13 assists, led by McDonald's four.

KEY STATS

• The Tigers fought valiantly in the second half, making a 16-point Purdue-Cal lead disappear late in the game.
• Wittenberg had two double-digit scorers in the game; Ziska led the way with 13 points, while Bundy added 12.
• While the Tiger's offense hit their stride in the second-half, 20 turnovers plagued the offense in the end.
• The fouth-quarter offensive run featured a five-point play that ignited Pam Evans Smith Arena late in the game. Brunswick and Bundy completed the plays after converting an and-one layup and foul shot, followed by a perfect trip to the free-throw line after a Purdue-Cal technical foul.

FROM THE BENCH

• "We show flashes of getting ourselves in position to finish a close game, but we need to finish one to give ourselves confidence, I know we will get there… We played good defense today, we just need to avoid these big stretches of scoring, especially going into two tough conference games," said Coach Jurewicz.

UP NEXT

• The Tigers resume NCAC play January 2 at 3:00 p.m. on the road against Hiram, and continue conference play January 3 at 2:00 p.m. at Allegheny.

Written By: Kuris Duggan