CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — A decisive early second-half surge and timely free-throw shooting down the stretch propelled Wabash College to a 72-66 North Coast Athletic Conference home victory over the College of Wooster Fighting Scots on Saturday evening at Chadwick Court.

The win completed a season sweep of Wooster for the Little Giants, who also earned an 89-80 road victory earlier this winter, and extended Wabash's recent dominance in the series. The Little Giants have now won 11 of the last 14 meetings with the Scots, including nine consecutive victories on their home floor.

Wabash (14-7, 8-4 NCAC) and Wooster traded momentum throughout a competitive opening half that featured three lead changes and two ties. Wooster jumped out to an early 9-6 advantage behind baskets from EJ Kapihe and Quincy Jones, but Wabash responded with an 8-2 run sparked by back-to-back three-pointers from Rich Brooks and a turnaround jumper by Nate Matelic to take an 18-15 lead at the 8:59 mark.

The Scots answered with inside scoring from Isaac Roeder and Tommy Vaughn Jr. to briefly reclaim the lead, but Wabash closed the half strong. Luke Ellspermann knocked down a three-pointer, Matelic added a pull-up jumper, and the Little Giants capped the final surge when Matelic buried a three-pointer with four seconds remaining to send Wabash into halftime with a 32-28 advantage.

Wabash seized control with a decisive 10-0 run to open the second half. Brooks ignited the spurt with a driving layup and a fast-break three-pointer, Ellspermann added a pair of baskets in the lane, and Brooks capped the run by converting all three free throws after drawing a shooting foul to give Wabash a 42-28 lead just under three minutes into the half.

Wooster (7-15, 4-9 NCAC) answered with a steady response. Vaughn and Jaiden Cox-Holloway fueled a 6-0 run midway through the half to trim the deficit to single digits, and the Scots continued to chip away behind Roeder's inside scoring and Quincy Jones' work at the foul line. Wooster cut the margin to 65-62 on free throws by Kapihe with 2:49 remaining ahead of a driving layup by Jaiden Cox-Holloway to trim the Wabash lead to one at 65-64 with 41 seconds left in regulation, setting up a tense finish.

Matelic delivered a pivotal basket with 24 seconds left, driving to the rim for a layup and converting the ensuing free throw to push the Wabash lead to four. After Wooster again closed within two, Brooks and Ellspermann combined to seal the outcome by going 5-of-6 at the line in the final nine seconds.

Brooks paced all scorers with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, including 3-of-6 from three-point range, and a perfect 5-for-5 effort at the free-throw line. Ellspermann added 15 points, while Matelic chipped in 12.

Gavin Schippert recorded his third double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The performance moved Schippert to 506 career rebounds, making him the 18th player in Wabash history to surpass the 500-rebound milestone.

Wooster was led by Roeder with 13 points. Vaughn and Jones each finished with 11 points for the Scots.

Wabash shot 42.4 percent from the field (25 of 59), went 6 of 25 from three-point range (24.0 percent), and converted 16 of 20 free throws (80.0 percent). Wooster finished at 42.6 percent shooting overall (23 of 54), connected on 27.8 percent of its three-point attempts (5 of 18), and made 15 of 19 free throws (78.9 percent).

The Little Giants owned a 36-32 edge in rebounding.

Wabash returns to action Wednesday, Feb. 11, with a North Coast Athletic Conference road contest at Ohio Wesleyan University. Tipoff in Delaware, Ohio, is scheduled for 7 p.m.