Angel Escobedo began the night against No. 5 Brandon Precin in the 125-pound match. Escobedo, the third-ranked wrestler in the country, defeated Precin 10-3 earlier this season in the finals of the Midlands. Precin would not go down so easily this time, however, forcing a sudden victory round. Escobedo earned his 25th triumph of the year by recording a takedown with just one second remaining in the sudden victory period.
No. 12 Andrae Hernandez and Scott Kelly increased the Hoosier lead to 9-0 with two wins in the 133-pound and 141-pound matches. Hernandez fell just shy of a major decision, winning 8-1 over Eric Metzler while Kelly scored a 4-1 `W' over Keith Sulzer.
After the Wildcats got on the board in the 149-lb. bout, No. 4 Brandon Becker and No. 14 Matt Coughlin put the Cream and Crimson back on track in the next two contests. Becker garnered a pin at the 6:08 mark and Coughlin won 3-1 to put Indiana up 18-3.
Redshirt freshman Paul Young took a 2-0 lead over No. 12 Nick Hayes in the 171-pound class with a first period takedown. Hayes proved to be too much, however, keeping Northwestern alive at 18-6 with three matches to go. Senior Marc Bennett closed the door though. The Martinsville, Ind. native made short work of Adil Kolovic, pinning his foe in the first period to guarantee an IU victory.
The Wildcats were able to take the final two bouts of the night, but it was not enough as the Hoosiers arose victorious, 24-14.
Next up for Indiana are the Big Ten Championships next weekend, March 8-9, in Minneapolis.
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