NEWBERRY, S.C. – The 20th-ranked UNC Pembroke wrestling team went toe-to-toe with 16th-ranked Newberry for most of the evening, but a pin by Huston Evans just 52 seconds into his 197-pound matchup with Stuart Nadeau proved to be the difference as the Wolves turned back UNCP, 18-15, on Tuesday evening in Eleazer Arena.
The setback snapped a five-match win streak for the Braves (12-4) who fell to 2-9 all-time against their region nemesis. It was the fourth-straight victory for Newberry (10-3) who improved to 5-0 at home this season.
The Wolves tallied decisions in each of the first two individual bouts of the evening to grab an early 6-0 lead, but Daniel Ownbey got the Braves on the board at 141 pounds with a 13-9 decision over Nick Lankford. Seiji Borja would pad the Newberry lead back out to six points minutes later when he finished off a 7-4 decision over Hayden Fry in the 149-pound matchup.
Reggie Allen used a riding time point to edge Dennis Flores at 157 pounds for a key three team points, and Juan Stimpson knotted the match up at 165 pounds by registering nearly five minutes of riding time in a dominant 8-1 decision over Lukas Gilmore. Terrence Zaleski gave the Braves a 12-9 lead on the team scoreboard at 174 pounds when he rode Joe Pittman for the entire the third period en route to a 2-0 decision.
Jared Holliday recorded a key 8-3 win over Mikey Thomas at 184 pounds to tie the match back up, and Evans needed less than a minute to deliver the fatal blow in the 197-pound bout. Chris Giddens had his chances to even things up again in the battle of the heavyweights, but had to settle for a 2-1 overtime decision over Cody Brundage.
The Braves will head back to central South Carolina on Saturday to take part in the Newberry Open inside Eleazer Arena. Wrestling action is scheduled to get underway at 9 a.m. UNCP will return home again on February 17 to host Limestone in its final dual meet of the 2014-15 campaign.
No. 16 Newberry 18, No. 20 UNC Pembroke 15
125: Trung Duong (NC) dec. Josh Brown (UNCP) D 10-5
133: Jordan Simpson (NC) dec. Cole Murray (UNCP) D 5-0
141: No. 2 Daniel Ownbey (UNCP) dec. Nick Lankford (NC) D 13-9
149: Seiji Borja (NC) dec. Hayden Fry (UNCP) D 7-4
157: Reggie Allen (UNCP) dec. Dennis Flores (NC) D 3-2
165: Juan Stimpson (UNCP) dec. Lukas Gilmore (NC) D 8-1
174: No. 4 Terrence Zaleski (UNCP) dec. Joe Pittman (NC) D 2-0
184: Jared Holliday (NC) dec. Mikey Thomas (UNCP) D 8-3
197: No. 7 Huston Evans (NC) pinned Stuart Nadeau (UNCP) F 0:52
285: No. 7 Chris Giddens (UNCP) dec. Cody Brundage (NC) OT-3 2-1
Starting Weight: 125
Records: UNC Pembroke 12-4; Newberry 10-3
