Senior post Josh Claytor provided a series of key offensive rebounds and put-backs to help lead Wooster to the 74-67 overtime victory.

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster outscored Ohio Wesleyan University 15-2 during the last nine minutes of regulation, with Xavier Brown sending the hotly-contested match-up into overtime when he hit a jump shot with :25 left, then the No. 14 ranked Fighting Scots continued their run with eight of the first 10 points of the extra session en route to a 74-67 victory that allowed them to clinch a share of the North Coast Athletic Conference championship Wednesday night.

The NCAC championship is Wooster's league-best 15th, including eight in the past nine seasons and 12 over the previous 16.

For quite a while on Wednesday it seemed that Ohio Wesleyan (16-5, 9-4 NCAC) was going to tighten up the top of the conference standings, but the tide began to turn ever so slightly when Brown stole the ball and transitioned up court for a lay-up as he was fouled. The ensuing free throw brought Wooster (19-3, 12-1 NCAC) within 58-48 at the 8:39 mark.

After a defensive stop, Brown dropped in a pull-up jumper, and a couple possessions later, he added another fast-break hoop. With 5:14 on the clock, Brown split a pair of free throws as his personal 8-0 run made it a five-point deficit (58-53).

The Battling Bishops got back on track with a couple of defensive stops and a pair of trips to the free throw line that yielded 2-of-4 makes for a seven-point margin (60-53).

Next, Doug Thorpe canned a 3-pointer with 2:57 remaining. Two offensive trips later, Josh Claytor corralled an offensive rebound and laid it back in to make it a one-possession game (60-58) for the first time during the second half.

After Ohio Wesleyan turned the ball over with 1:00 left, the Scots worked the ball around to no avail before Brown got a jumper to fall with the shot clock running down, knotting the contest at 60.

The Bishops nearly won it in regulation, but an open 3-pointer from the right wing with :03 to go was off the mark.

It was all Wooster during the overtime. The hosts scored the first four points, but the key basket was a Claytor tip-in of another offensive board that pushed their lead to 68-62 with just over a minute left. Following an Ohio Wesleyan miss, the Bishops were forced to foul and Evan Pannell and Thorpe combined to make 6-of-6 free throws during the final minute to seal the outcome.

The first half went back-and-forth until a late 9-1 Ohio Wesleyan run helped lift the visitors to a 40-31 advantage at the break.

The Scots scored the first four points of the second half, but then the Bishops connected on back-to-back 3-pointers and were ahead by double figures for the majority of the time until Wooster's rally.

Statistically, the game was very even. The Scots shot slightly better from the field, 46.8 percent (29-for-62) to 39.7 percent (27-for-68), and outrebounded Ohio Wesleyan 42-36.

Four players reached double-digits in the win, highlighted by Claytor's season-high 17 points on 8-of-10 field goals. He also contributed a team-leading eight boards and two steals, while Brown matched him in the scoring column with 17. Thorpe chipped in 14 points and Pannell 11.

The Bishops' Taylor Rieger led all players with 18 points, highlighted by 4-of-5 3-pointers, while Andy Winters was right behind him with 15 points and nine assists.

Wooster doesn't have much time to celebrate the thrilling comeback victory, as archrival Wittenberg University (15-7, 8-5 NCAC) will be in town Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.