GREENSBORO – The 10^th-ranked UNC Pembroke wrestling team picked up five bonus-point victories – including pins by Kaleb Warner, Rodney Shepard and Brandon Sloop – to fuel a 33-12 victory at Greensboro on Wednesday in the final regular season dual meet for both teams.
 
The triumph marked the third-straight victory for the Braves (7-5) who have now strung together seven consecutive winning seasons. It was the third-straight loss for The Pride (2-11) who fell to 0-2 all-time in the series with the Black & Gold.
 
The Braves spotted Greensboro a 6-0 lead via a forfeit at 125 pounds, but got a dominating win via technical fall by freshman Ronnie Pietro at 133 pounds, and then took their first lead of the night on Kaleb Warner's first-period pin over Ryan Dominique in the 149-pound bout.
 
The Pride crept out in front on the team scoreboard, 12-11, when Luke Waggoner toughed out a 9-8 win over Tyler Makosy at 157 pounds, but the Black & Gold took the lead for good moments later when Shepard needed just 38 seconds of his 165-pound matchup with Conan Wilson to tally his second pin of the campaign.
 
Faris Teia delivered a 6-5 decision at 174 pounds, and Sloop and Marcus Montgomery (major decision) both followed with bonus point victories to push UNCP's lead out to 30-12. Marcus Bell put the finishing touches on the night with a 5-2 decision over Mykel Williams in the heavyweight bout.
 
The Braves will dive into the postseason on February 22 when they head to Hartsville, S.C., for the NCAA Southeast Regional inside Coker's DeLoach Center.