OMAHA, Neb. (Jan. 30) -- Top-ranked Nebraska-Omaha showcased all its considerable firepower here Friday night, overwhelming No. 5 Central Oklahoma 43-3.
The Bronchos won just one match in losing their third straight dual, with the unbeaten Mavericks breaking the dual open early with three bonus-point wins in a four-match stretch and then finishing it with three consecutive falls.
It was the largest margin of victory for either team in the 25-dual series that UNO now leads 13-12. UCO, which fell to 9-6-1, returns to action next Saturday at the Missouri Valley Open.
“UNO just took it to us and that's totally unacceptable,” head coach David James said. “We lost a couple of close ones and at some other weights they were just too much. We're going to take a long look at some things and try to get going in the right direction.”
Fourth-ranked Tim Elliott had the lone win for the Bronchos with a dominating 10-4 win over Matt Rein in the opening match at 125 pounds. The senior standout had four takedowns and nearly four minutes riding time in picking up his 30th win of the season.
The Mavericks won all three weights where both teams featured ranked individuals, the biggest coming in the final match when No. 4 Tony Lewis pinned top-rated Dustin Finn.
Finn, whose only defeat in a 14-1 start was an overtime loss to Lewis in early December, almost scored two takedowns in the opening minute and was near another one when Lewis tripped him to his back and got the stunning fall at the 1:30 mark.
No. 3 Colby Robinson also dropped a 6-3 decision to fourth-ranked Mario Morgan at 141 and No. 5 Tommy McCarty fell to top-ranked Ross Taplin 4-2 at 174.
McCarty, who knocked off No. 2 Marty Usman of Nebraska-Kearney Thursday night, gave up an escape and penalty point early in the third period to fall behind 4-2 and couldn't come up with a tying takedown in the final minute.
125: Tim Elliott, UCO, dec. Matt Rein, 10-4.
133: Cody Garcia, UNO, pinned Scott Berens, 2:21.
141: Mario Morgan, UNO, dec. Colby Robinson, 6-3.
149: Esai Dominguez, UNO, major dec. Luke Elmore, 16-7.
157: Todd Meneely, UNO, pinned Ed Jackson, 2:12.
165: Ryan Pankoke, UNO, dec. Kelly Henderson, 3-1.
174: Ross Taplin, UNO, dec. Tommy McCarty, 4-2.
184: Brent Pankoke, UNO, pinned Daniel Morrison, 5:00.
197: Jacob Marrs, UNO, pinned Zach James, 4:00.
Hvy: Tony Lewis, UNO, pinned Dustin Finn, 1:30.
