Trailing Northern Illinois 7-3 after three matches at the Convocation Center, Kent State's upper weight trio of Eric Chine, Michael Blackwell and Jermail Porter toasted the scoreboard for a total of 44 points in the next three matches to give the 24th-ranked Golden Flashes a 14-7 lead – one they would never relinquish in a spirited 20-16 conference win over the Huskies.
"They all tried real hard in certain situations. We've been trying very hard to get them into situations where they can score points and capitalize on different match situations," head coach Jim Andrassy said.
Wrestling without returning national qualifier Dan Mitcheff and fourth-ranked (MAC) Clint Sponseller on the trip, the Flashes sent Nick Dierkes out to start things at 157. He would surrender a 4-2 decision to put the good guys behind out of the chute.
It didn't look forgiving for Kent State at 165 pounds either. Despite taking the first shot, Kurt Gross was eventually turned over on the same move by the Huskies' Jesse Linczmaier. Down 5-0 out of the gate, Gross would respond by closing the match on a 16-6 scoring run which included six takedowns. It tied things up between the two teams, 3-3.
After Duke Burk's major decision of Chris Estep at 174, the Flashes' big guns started the scoring party.
A dominating third period by Eric Chine against Brad Dieckhaus gave him the necessary points to stretch out a precarious lead. Chine's seven-point third stanza turned the final score to 14-4, tying the dual at 7-7. The very next match saw a major offensive explosion as Michael Blackwell followed suit by putting 20 points on the Convocation Center scoreboard against Jake Smith. The back-to-back majors but Kent ahead, 11-7.
At 285, Jermail Porter became the third straight Flashes grappler to eclipse double figures. Porter notched a 10-4 win over NIU's Dave Benner. The three solid, uncontested wins gave the Flashes the big 14-7 lead as the dual turned over to the top of the order.
Ranked second in the MAC, Nic Bedelyon found himself in a defensive struggle with fellow freshman TJ Wunnecke. Wunnicke tried his hardest to slow down Bedelyon's attack, but a takedown and advantage time point in the opening period proved to be the difference as the KSU rookie prevailed, 4-3.
"I thought (Bedelyon's) riding time point was probably the difference in the dual meet," NIU head coach Dave Grant said.
"We came in here without two of our starters, two ranked starters," Andrassy said. "That would be like a football team going to battle without a cornerback and linebacker out. I was very proud with how our kids wrestled as a team."
Kent State then yielded a six-point forfeit to the Huskies at 133 in lieu of the ailing Mitcheff.
Ahead 17-13, a win of any kind by 18th-ranked (NCAA) Drew Lashaway would clinch a key road win for Kent State. And the junior would not disappoint as he secured a commanding 8-3 win over Tristen DeShazer at 141 pounds. It gave the Flashes a 20-13 lead, and the final of 20-16 would be realized when Kalen Knull knocked off Jeremy Depoy 7-4 at 149.
The Flashes will return to action – and hopefully get healthy in the meanwhile – on Thu. Jan. 31 when they travel to Pittsburgh for a 7 p.m. tilt with the Panthers.
"It's a great challenge for us. Our goal is to get healthy and I think we match up with them really well. We need to keep working hard," Andrassy added.
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