PEMBROKE – Visiting and 14th-ranked Newberry turned the tide to register key pins at 141 and 165 pounds to fuel a 26-13 victory over the UNC Pembroke wrestling team in a pivotal Eastern College Athletic Conference matchup on Thursday evening at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
The setback snapped a four-match win streak for the Braves (14-8, 4-1 ECAC) who saw their 13-match home win streak put to a rest as well. Newberry (16-2, 5-0) clinched at least a share of the inaugural ECAC regular season championship, while also picking up its ninth-straight dual meet win.
The Wolves tallied bonus point victories in each of the first three matchups of the night to build a 14-0 lead on the team scoreboard, but Eric Milks helped the hosts stop the bleeding with a 7-3 decision over Zach Dobbins in the 149-pound bout. Lukas Gilmore grabbed a key pin at 165 pounds to stretch the visitor's lead out to 20-6, but third-ranked Huston Evans clinched the team win two matches later with a hard-fought 8-3 decision at 184 pounds.
All-American and fourth-ranked Blaze Shade interrupted the late run by the Wolves with a 13-4 major decision over Dennis Flores, while Stuart Nadeau closed out the night with a 3-1 decision in the heavyweight bout.
UNCP will be back in action again on Saturday when it heads to central South Carolina for the Newberry Duals inside Eleazer Arena. Wrestling action is expected to get underway at 9 a.m.
No. 14 Newberry 26, UNC Pembroke 13
125: No. 7 Trung Duong (NC) maj. dec. Josh Brown (UNCP) M 13-4
133: Jordan Simpson (NC) maj. dec. Dustin Smith (UNCP) M 11-0
141: Nick Lankford (NC) pinned Ryan Blackwell (UNCP) F 3:53
149: Eric Milks (UNCP) dec. Zach Dobbins (NC) D 7-3
157: Hayden Fry (UNCP) dec. Cody Rothermel (NC) D 6-2
165: Lukas Gilmore (NC) pinned Joe Remaklus (UNCP) F 4:33
174: No. 4 Blaze Shade (UNCP) maj. dec. Dennis Flores (NC) M 13-4
184: No. 3 Huston Evans (NC) dec. Mikey Thomas (UNCP) D 8-3
197: Cody Brundage (NC) dec. Brach Walker (UNCP) D 9-2
285: Stuart Nadeau (UNCP) dec. Mike Kennedy (NC) D 3-1
Starting Weight: 125
Records: Newberry 16-2, 5-0 ECAC; UNC Pembroke 14-8, 4-1 ECAC
