Scott Purcell steals the ball from Wittenberg's Sam Collins early on. Purcell contributed six points, three assists, and two steals in the win.

WOOSTER, Ohio – Evan Pannell matched a career high with 21 points, Kenny DeBoer turned in a North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament MVP performance, and The College of Wooster's defense excelled for a long second-half stretch in building a 21-point lead (58-37), which added up to an eventual 71-63 win for the top-seeded Fighting Scots over the No. 3 seed and their archrival, Wittenberg University, during Saturday night's conference tourney finals at Timken Gym.

By winning the NCAC Tournament championship, its 15th in the 30-year history of the league, Wooster (25-3) earns the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Div. III Championship field, which starts play with first- and second-round action next weekend, March 7-8. The Scots will be making their 23rd appearance in the Div. III tourney, 19 of which have occurred the last 20 years.

The Scots led wire-to-wire against Wittenberg (21-7), jumping out to a 10-2 advantage less than four minutes into the action. While the Tigers never went ahead on the scoreboard, the remainder of the opening half was very close, as the margin stayed between one and eight points, including 36-30 at halftime.

An extended Wooster run in the second half was the difference. With 10 consecutive points, eight by DeBoer, the Scots turned a 38-33 game into 48-33, and they later pushed that cushion to 58-37, making it an overall run of 20-4.

Wooster scored plenty during that critical stretch, but it was its defense that stood out. Scott Purcell started it with a clean swipe on the inside, the first of six steals in seven minutes, including two by Xavier Brown, and Jalen Goodwin added two blocked shots. Overall, Wittenberg committed seven turnovers and shot 1-for-8 from the field during that run.

The Tigers did chip away at the 21-point spread, narrowing it to 11 (66-55) with five minutes left. DeBoer answered a minute later with one of his three 3-pointers on the night and Wooster maintained a double-digit lead until the final moments.

The Scots have now swept three games from their rivals each of the last two seasons, evening up the all-time series 54-54.

DeBoer, who had a career-high 22 points and 11 rebounds during the semifinals, earned the tourney MVP award following a 15-point, five-rebound, four-assist effort in the championship game. Pannell, who also scored 21 points against Wittenberg in the 2013 NCAC Tournament semifinals, was named to the all-tournament team.

Wooster's Dan Fanelly would have been a worthy selection, too. He scored 12 points and recorded six rebounds, a night after going for 10 and 13. 

Scott Masin, who matched Fanelly's production with 12 points and six boards, and Zack Leahy were the Tigers' all-tourney representatives, while rounding out the team were DePauw University's Tommy Fernitz and Reuel Rogers of Ohio Wesleyan University.

The NCAA will announce the Div. III field on Monday at 12:30 p.m., via ncaa.com.