Wabash overpowered DePauw Wednesday night inside a packed Chadwick Court for a 72-62 victory. The Little Giants more than doubled their rivals' rebounding output while Daniel Purvlicis and Marcus Kammrath each earned double-doubles.

"Rebounding is about grit and toughness," Coach Kyle Brumett said. "When you have it, you just have an edge going in that the other team really can't do anything about."

The Tigers had no answer. The Little Giants outrebounded them by a whopping 43-17 margin as Purvlicis scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 11 boards while Kammrath scored 14 and registered a game-high 12 rebounds. The win clinched a three-seed for Wabash in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament next week.

"Everybody wants to peak at the right time and we're doing it," Kammrath said. "We're finally settled in coach's new system and it's all coming together."

The win ended Wabash's four-game skid to its rival. The victory also marked the second time Brumett defeated the school where he served as an assistant coach for seven years. DePauw won the first matchup this year 75-58, shooting 42.9 percent from three.

"My guys are holding themselves accountable, and they know that I'm going to hold myself accountable," Brumett said. "We were too lax on the defense around the three-point line the first time we played them."

Wednesday night, the Tigers only hit on 7-of-26 three-point attempts. Inside, All-Conference big man Tommy Fernitz was neutralized by a combination of Kammrath, Purvlicis, and Daniel Scofield.

"We weren't sure if we wanted to send the double since Kammrath and Scofield were doing such a good job on him," Purvlicis said. "We didn't have to double him as much and that worked out well for us because we didn't leave some shooters like we had to in the past."

Fernitz finished the game with 12 points and 5 rebounds.

"Maybe the first time we played them I would've said Fernitz was the best inside player in our conference, but now I think I have those guys," Brumett said. "He's still really good. You don't want to be isolated in there any more than you have to."

A back-and-forth first half concluded with a 31-28 advantage for the Little Giants. Two Purvlicis free throws with a minute remaining broke a 26-26 tie; Wabash held the lead from that point onward.

The Little Giants pushed the lead to 11 four minutes into the second half, and had it at 13 halfway through the second frame. Buckets from Bradley Fey and Bob Dillon kept the game within reach for the visitors.

Fey finished with 12 points while Dillon scored nine on 4-of-11 shooting. Luke Lattner, who scored 36 against Wabash in the January matchup, only scored eight this time around.

DePauw cut the lead to seven multiple times, including late with one minute remaining. After a missed free throw and a 65-57 Little Giant advantage, Kammrath appropriately all-but sealed the win with an offensive rebound. Wabash had 15 offensive rebounds to DePauw's seven.

"We had zero offensive rebounds and zero second-chance points in the first half the last time we played them," Brumett said. "As a coach, those things make you feel like we were too tight because it's not who we are."

Kasey Oetting and Austin Burton added 12 points for the Little Giants. Wabash made 20-of-27 free throw attempts, good for 74.1 percent at the line. The home team also connected on 4-of-7 threes and shot 52.2 percent from the field.

"There's so much success walking around campus in everything our students do here," Brumett said. "Our basketball guys deserve that success too and I'm really proud they're getting that taste."

The Little Giants will wrap up the regular season 3 p.m. Saturday against Kenyon. Before the game, Wabash will honor seniors Oetting, Houston Hodges, Jordan Wagner, and Travis Wilson.