Xavier Brown

In the first North Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball game between DePauw University and The College of Wooster, it was DePauw that made the key plays down the stretch as the Tigers broke free from a 57-57 tie with 13 unanswered points, keying a 75-66 defeat of the No. 16 ranked Fighting Scots Saturday at Greencastle, Ind.

The setback puts Wooster (12-3, 3-3 NCAC) in an unusual spot. The three conference losses are the most the seven-time defending NCAC-champion Scots have suffered in a season since 2001-02.

With less than 4:00 remaining Saturday, Wooster's Xavier Brown tied the score for the fourth time. DePauw (10-5, 4-2 NCAC), though, scored on six consecutive possessions, highlighted by a Sean Haseley 3-pointer, while holding the Scots scoreless during the same sequence to make it 70-57.

Doug Thorpe and Justin Hallowell would combine for three 3-pointers during the last minute, but the closest Wooster cut the deficit to was eight (74-66).

Prior to the 13-0 run, neither squad had been ahead by more than eight. DePauw jumped out to a 12-6 lead, which was followed by nine-straight points for the Scots as they gained a three-point lead. Wooster extended that to four at 20-16 midway through the first half, but only scored six points, all by Brown, the next 10 minutes in falling behind 32-26 by halftime.

The Tigers went up eight in the early stages of the second, but Wooster whittled away at the lead and eventually gained it back as a Josh Claytor lay-up made it 49-48. That turned out to be the Scots only advantage of the half, as DePauw responded and eventually pulled away with the big run.

Statistically, Wooster was outrebounded for the first time all season as the Tigers owned a 31-25 edge in that category. They also shot 50.0 percent from the field (27-of-54), which is the highest any opponent has achieved against the Scots during 2011-12.

Brown scored 18 points and Thorpe 14, which included 4-of-7 3-point shooting. Also of note, Matt Fegan banged in 3-of-4 3-pointers for nine points and Hallowell led all players with seven rebounds.

Michael Wilkison paced the victors with 18 points and Haseley recorded 15, including 3-of-5 3-balls.

Wooster will attempt to bounce back on Wednesday when it travels to Allegheny College (2-13, 0-6 NCAC) for a 7:30 p.m. contest.