Purdue Fort Wayne Pulls Away From Tigers In Second Half

Fort Wayne, Indiana - The Wittenberg Tigers kept their game against NCAA Division I Purdue Fort Wayne squad within reach through the early part of the second half before the Mastadons put together a 17-3 burst. Over the final 10 minutes, the Mastadons finished the job to improve to 6-1 with a 95-64 victory.

The game was considered an exhibition for Wittenberg. The Tigers are 4-2 overall heading into a North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) home game against Oberlin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, November 29.

Purdue Fort Wayne overwhelmed Wittenberg in two key areas of the game, outscoring the smaller Tigers in the paint by a whopping 60-18, and converting its fast break opportunities into 34 points, compared to just seven fast break points for Wittenberg.

Junior Trey Killens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mason) continued his stellar early season play, leading both teams with 20 points. He was joined in double figures by senior Dean Tate (Indianapolis, Indiana/Warren Central), who poured in 18 points in 18 minutes off the bench in his first extended action of the season after earning all-conference honors as a wide receiver for the Wittenberg football team. Tate went 4-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, and he was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line.

Wittenberg shot 37 percent from the field as a team, compared to 58 percent for the Mastadons. Purdue Fort Wayne won the rebounding battle 38-31, and the Mastadons forced Wittenberg into 17 turnovers while only committing 10 of their own.