KEARNEY, Neb. (Jan. 29) -- Tommy McCarty had a big win in a showdown at 174 pounds, but No. 5-ranked Central Oklahoma lost four bonus-point matches and dropped a 24-17 decision to No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney here Thursday night.
The fifth-ranked McCarty knocked off No. 2 Marty Usman 2-1 as one of UCO's four winners, with the Lopers using a three-match winning streak midway through the dual to take the lead and then getting back-to-back major decisions near the end to clinch it.
Top-rated Dustin Finn had a fall at heavyweight for the Bronchos, who also got major decisions from 125 Tim Elliott and 141 Colby Robinson.
UCO, which fell to 9-5-1 with the loss, goes on to Omaha Friday night to take on No. 1 Nebraska-Omaha in a 7 p.m. bout.
“We didn't compete in a few matches that I thought going in were toss-ups and that was disappointing,” UCO coach David James said. “Tommy picked up a good win and our other three guys did a good job of getting bonus for us. We'll have an even bigger challenge tomorrow and better be ready to go.”
The fourth-rated Elliott gave UCO an early 4-0 lead with a 9-0 shellacking of Jordan White, taking control with a first-period takedown and near-fall en route to his 20th bonus-point win of the season.
UNK took the lead at 133 without scoring a point on a stunning fall by Joey Morrison. Scott Berens was in control late in the second period of a scoreless match when Morrison pulled Berens over the top and -- without scoring a reverse -- pinned him at the 4:24 mark.
The third-ranked Robinson put the Bronchos back on top with a 10-2 major decision, using an early takedown and late near-fall to take a 5-0 first-period lead and piling up 3:36 of riding time in the rout.
UNK took the lead for good at 149 when third-rated Ryan Etherton topped No. 6 Luke Elmore 3-0 and the Lopers made it 16-8 with a major decision at 157 and a 5-0 win by sixth-ranked Taylor May over No. 3 Mikey Morgan at 165.
McCarty ended UCO's three-match losing streak at 174 with a last-second 2-1 upset of Usman. McCarty wasn't awarded what appeared to be a tie-breaking takedown in the final 10 seconds, but Usman was hit with a penalty point for fleeing the mat at 0:02 and McCarty claimed his 10th straight win.
The Lopers put the dual away with wins at 184 and 197 before Finn ended it with a second-period fall, his 11th of the year and the 25th of his three-year career.
Nebraska-Kearney 24, UCO 17
125: Tim Elliott, UCO, major dec. Jordan White, 9-0.
133: Joey Morrison, UNK, pinned Scott Berens, 4:24.
141: Colby Robinson, UCO, major dec. Cody Lambotte, 10-2.
149: Ryan Etherton, UNK, dec. Luke Elmore, 3-0.
157: Keenan McCurdy, UNK, major dec. Kelley Henderson, 13-0.
165: Taylor May, UNK, dec. Mikey Morgan, 5-0.
174: Tommy McCarty, UCO, dec. Marty Usman, 2-1.
184: Paul Sutton, UNK, major dec. Daniel Morrison, 16-3.
197: Matt Farrell, UNK, major dec. Patrick Finn, 13-5.
Hvy: Dustin Finn, UCO, pinned Derek Ross, 3:22.
