Northern Illinois opened the match with an 11-5 decision by Johnny Galloway over freshman Sli Bostelman (Tontogany, Ohio/Ostego) at 165 pounds.
The Huskies increased their lead to 6-0 as Danny Burk scored a 3-2 decision over senior Aaron Miller (Uniopolis, Ohio/Wapakoneta) at 174 pounds.
NIU's Duke Burk scored a 9-4 decision over sophomore Eric Chine (Austintown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch) at 184 pounds as the Huskies took a 9-0 lead after three matches.
Kent State got on the board when senior Ardian Ramadani (Garfield , N.J./Garfield) scored a 3-1 decision over Nick McClone at 197 pounds to cut the Golden Flashes' deficit to six at 9-3. Ramadani, ranked 20th nationally at 197 pounds, is now 18-9 overall.
Sophomore heavyweight Jermail Porter (Akron, Ohio/Firestone) scored a 7-4 decision over Dave Benner to pull Kent State closer at 9-6. Porter's win increased his overall record this season to 20-7. He entered the match ranked 19th nationally.
Northern Illinois increased its advantage to 12-6 when Pat Castillo scored a 7-4 decision over senior Chad Sportelli (Easton, Pa./Easton) at 125 pounds. Castillo entered the match ranked 17th nationally while Sportelli ranked 19th. The loss was the first for Sportelli in a dual match this season (13-1).
Sophomore Danny Mitcheff (Lorain, Ohio/Elyria) scored a 10-7 decision over Gralen Early at 133 pounds to pull the Flashes within three at 12-9.
The momentum turned in favor of the Golden Flashes when sophomore Clint Sponseller (Glenmount, Ohio/West Holmes) put Kent State in the lead with a pin of Justin Metcalfe at 141 pounds. Sponseller led the match 5-2 when he pinned Metcalfe 4:24 into the match.
Senior Jason McGee (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/Cuyahoga Falls) clinched the victory for Kent State when he registered a 9-1 major decision over Will McDermott at 149 pounds. McGee's victory increased his overall record this season to 22-9.
Senior Kurt Gross (North Royalton, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) ended the match with a 6-1 victory in overtime over Kalen Knull at 157 pounds.
Head Coach Jim Andrassy praised the efforts of his team in the come-from-behind victory. "At first I was nervous, especially after we lost at 174 and 184 pounds," Andrassy said. "But, this team has someone different step us for us in each dual match. Today, Clint Sponseller got us the lead and Jason McGee clinched the win. As a team, we have a knack of finding ways to win."
Kent State (13-1, 2-0 MAC) hosts the University of Pittsburgh at 2:05 p.m. on Sunday (1/28) in the M.A.C. Center.
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