Doug Thorpe scored the final 10 points for Wooster, including this baseline jumper, as he helped the Scots edge past Wheaton (Ill.).

WOOSTER, Ohio – An early season match-up between top-10 teams went to eighth-ranked College of Wooster, with the Fighting Scots' Doug Thorpe breaking a 67-67 tie and scoring the final 10 points of a 77-73 win over No. 5 Wheaton (Ill.) College in the championship game of the 20th annual Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Tournament.

Wheaton (3-2) tied the game for the eighth time at 67, then Thorpe went to work. First, the senior guard hit a step-back 3-pointer, and after a defensive stop, he drove to the hoop to put Wooster (3-0) on top by two possessions, 72-67, at the 3:55 mark.

Following a timeout, the Thunder had a four-point possession, thanks in part to a technical foul, however, Thorpe answered by draining a contested 3-pointer from the left wing, assisted by Scott Purcell.

Next, both defenses came up with a series of stops as Wooster hung on to the four-point lead until Tyler Peters got free in the lane for a bucket to make it a 75-73 game with :44 remaining.

The Scots then worked the shot clock down, with Thorpe misfiring on a jumper, but Kenny DeBoer corralled the biggest rebound of the game and threw it over to Thorpe who was fouled with 10.2 seconds left. Thorpe dropped in both free throws to essentially seal the victory.

The momentum swung back-and-forth during the first half, with six lead changes and six ties, despite Wooster losing one of its starters due to foul trouble three minutes in. The Scots' Josh Kipfer scored the final four points of the half, including a tip-in at the buzzer, to give the hosts a 44-41 advantage.

Wooster came out of the halftime break with a 15-3 spurt, constructing its largest lead of the evening at 59-44.

Wheaton made 3-pointers on its next three possessions, two by Michael Kvam, to quickly get back in the game (61-53) and continued to chip away as the Scots made just one field goal during an eight-minute stretch. In fact, Nate Haynes's three-point play at the 6:21 mark gave the Thunder a 65-64 edge.

That would be their only lead of the second half, as Xavier Brown responded with a 3-pointer, assisted by DeVaughn Wingard, on the other end, and after Wheaton tied it 67-67, Thorpe carried Wooster down the home stretch.

Both teams shot very well from 3-point range, the Scots at 56.5 percent (13-of-23) and the Thunder an even 50.0 percent (8-of-16), while the key statistical differential was Wooster's eight turnovers, compared to 18 for Wheaton.

Thorpe's strong finish gave him a game-high 21 points, including 5-of-7 shooting from outside the arc, and he landed on the all-tournament team.

The tournament MVP award went to Brown. A night after scoring 31 points, he tallied 16 more, and his efficiency over the two games was notable – 16-of-28 field goals (4-of-6 3-pointers) and 11-of-11 free throws.

Haynes collected the defensive MVP honor, totaling 28 points, 24 rebounds, and seven blocks, including 12 points, seven boards, and four blocks during the championship. Peters, who contributed 19 points against the Scots, also was on the all-tourney team.

In the consolation game, Baldwin Wallace University handled Spalding University by a 78-53 count, and rounding out the all-tournament team were Jaron Crowe and Kyle Payne of the Yellow Jackets and William Barber of the Golden Eagles.

Next for Wooster, it plays at undefeated Marietta College (4-0) the night before Thanksgiving.