PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke wrestling team registered 18 takedowns and six near-falls over nine individual matchups and used five bonus-point victories to cruise past visiting Belmont Abbey, 31-13, on Wednesday evening at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
 
It was the second-straight dual meet victory for the Braves (3-2) who improved to 15-2 all-time in the series with the Crusaders. It was just the first loss of the season for Belmont Abbey (2-1) who has not tasted victory in Pembroke since Nov. 17, 2007.
 
All-American Nick Daggett got the fireworks started without stepping foot on the mat as Belmont Abbey spotted the Braves six points on the shoulders of a forfeit at 125 pounds. Freshman Ronnie Pietro led 14-0 at the end of the first period of his matchup with Aaron Zebrauskas and made it an 11-0 lead for UNCP on the team scoreboard with a technical fall just 11 seconds into the second stanza.
 
Unbeaten Troy Gregor got the Crusaders on the board with a 15-6 major decision at 141 pounds, but newcomer Kaleb Warner swung the momentum back to the Black & Gold with a pin of John Gahagan just 16 seconds into the second period of the 149-matchup. Tyler Makosy's 15-6 major decision over Grant Finkbeiner minutes later padded UNCP's lead out to 21-4, and all-American Rodney Shepard's 8-2 upset win over ninth-ranked Greg Hilliard at 165 pounds pushed that advantage out to 20 points.
 
Andrew Pegram temporarily stopped the bleeding for the visitors with a 19-12 decision at 174 pounds, but Brandon Sloop clinched the outcome with a 13-5 major decision over Dawson Satterfield at 184 pounds, and Andrew Colborn added the garland to the victory with a 3-1 decision over Lucas Scarlett in the 197-pound matchup.
 
The Braves will be back in action again, Dec. 29-30, when they make the long trip to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fla., to take part in the Citrus Invitational.