This Evan Pannell dunk put Wooster ahead 65-57 late in the second half.

WOOSTER, Ohio – With The College of Wooster hanging on to a four-point lead as the clock went under the four-minute mark, Scott Purcell collected an offensive rebound and beat the shot clock with an off-balance jumper, shortly thereafter Evan Pannell found a clearing in the lane for a two-handed dunk to go ahead 65-57 at the 2:08 mark, which was just enough cushion for the Fighting Scots to put away a game Saint Vincent College squad 76-67 in the first round of the NCAA Div. III Championship Friday night at Timken Gymnasium.

Wooster (26-3) moves on to face Dickinson College (22-6), an 83-76 winner over the State University of New York at Geneseo earlier in the evening, in the NCAA's second round for the second year in a row.

Saint Vincent (22-7) used a quick 10-0 run early in the second half to pull within two (41-39), and while the Scots never trailed, the margin was never more than five points until the last five minutes.

Clinging to a 61-57 lead, Wooster was forced to throw up a tough shot with the shot clock running down. After the ball hit high off the glass, there was a quick scrum for the loose ball, with Purcell alertly flicking it back towards the basket left-handed while he fell out of bounds, and it swished through the net as the buzzer sounded.

After a few defensive stops, Pannell drove past his defender, into the paint, and slammed one home for the eight-point advantage.

The Scots made one more big play, this time via Kenny DeBoer. After the Bearcats cut it down to six with a couple of free throws and then didn't take advantage of another opportunity at the charity stripe, DeBoer got free on the inside, converting a lay-up while being fouled and making the free throw for the three-point play and a 68-59 lead with 1:31 left.

Wooster went on to make 8-of-11 free throws to secure the nine-point win.

Xavier Brown follows through on one of his three 3-pointers during the first half. All three were part of a 16-0 run that gave the Scots the lead after trailing by nine.

In the first half, the Scots weathered an early storm. Saint Vincent jumped out on top 19-9, and later it was 25-16 with 7:01 remaining in the half when Wooster's Xavier Brown knocked down 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions as part of a 16-0 run. Overall, the Scots closed the half on a 23-4 stretch to take a 39-29 lead into the locker room.

Overall, Wooster was a little bit better in most every statistical category. The Scots shot 41.4 percent from the field (24-for-58) to the Bearcats' 36.7 percent (22-for-60), outrebounded them 40-38, and committed two less turnovers (9-11).

Wooster featured a very balanced scoring attack with five in double figures. Brown led the way with 15 points, Thorpe had 14 plus three steals, and DeBoer fell just two assists shy of a triple-double as he tallied 12 points, 10 rebounds, and a career-high eight assists.

Dan Fanelly also notched a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Pannell scored an even dozen as well.

The Scots overcame a career-high 33 points from Saint Vincent's Isaac Turner.

Dickinson once trailed SUNY Geneseo (21-7) by 10 at 32-22, trimmed it to 37-32 at halftime, and quickly took the lead with a 10-1 run at the outset of the second half. The Red Devils' Brandon Angradi nailed five 3-pointers the second 20 minutes as part of an 18-point outing, while their point guard,   Adam Honig, led the way with 24 points and four assists.

The Dickinson-Wooster game will tip-off on Saturday at 7 p.m.