KEARNEY, Neb. (Feb. 6) – Clutch performances in the final two matches catapulted top-ranked Central Oklahoma past No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney 18-17 Sunday afternoon in a thrilling showdown of NCAA Division II powers.

The Bronchos trailed 17-12 going into the 197-pound bout, but Dalton Abney cruised to an easy 6-0 decision to make it 17-15 and heavyweight Shawn Streck knocked off Lee Herrington 5-2 in the deciding match to give UCO its 18th straight win

Central also got wins from 125 Paxton Rosen, 141 Nate Keim, 149 Brik Filippo and 157 Ty Lucas, with Keim and Filippo pulling out gritty back-to-back overtime victories. The Lopers earned three bonus-point wins and also picked up a major upset at 184 in the back-and-forth battle.

The Bronchos improved to 12-0 on the season and 3-0 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association action. UCO wraps up the dual season next Sunday, hosting league rival Newman at 2 p.m.

"We knew it was going to be a battle and it definitely was," head coach Todd Steidley said. "We gutted out some big wins and our two big guys came through for us at the end. It was a great dual between two really good teams."

The sixth-ranked Rosen gave UCO the early lead in the opening match, edging No. 8 Josh Portillo 5-4 on the strength of a riding time point. Rosen had two first-period takedowns for the only offensive points of the match, but was hurt by two penalty points.

UNK got a major decision at 133 to move in front, but the Bronchos won the next three weights to grab a 12-4 lead.

The fourth-rated Keim started that surge, coming out on top in a wild scramble midway through the sudden victory period to topple No. 11 Nick James 3-1 and Filippo followed with an equally dramatic victory.

The third-ranked junior upended No. 1 Sam Turner 3-1, turning a single-leg shot into the match-ending takedown with just six seconds left in the sudden victory period.

Lucas made it three in a row for UCO as the third-rated junior downed No. 5 Jacob Wasser 8-2. It was tied 2-2 entering the final period, but Lucas got a quick reverse and added a four-point near-fall down the stretch.

UNK scored consecutive technical falls at 165 and 174 before pulling off a stunner at 184, where defending national champion and top-ranked Heath Gray had a 50-match winning streak snapped with a 3-2 loss to Billy Higgins.

Higgins took a 2-1 lead on a takedown with one second left in the second period, then went ahead 3-1 to start the third when Gray cut him loose. Gray pushed the attack and got one penalty point for stalling, but couldn't come up with the winning takedown and suffered his first loss since Nov. 9, 2019.

That put UNK on top 17-12, but Abney and Streck were up to the task.

The top-ranked Abney struck for a quick takedown against No. 11 Hayden Prince and controlled him the rest of the period. The sophomore standout escaped in the opening seconds of the second stanza, tacked on a third-period takedown and added a riding-time point for the decisive 6-0 shutout.

Streck -- a mid-season addition wrestling just his fifth match of the season -- got a takedown late in the first period against No. 7 Lee Herrington, who used two escapes to tie it entering the final period. Streck broke the deadlock with a quick escape, then added a clinching takedown with 13 seconds left to give UCO the dual.

UCO 18, Nebraska-Kearney 17
125 – Paxton Rosen, UCO, dec. Josh Portillo, 5-4.
133 – Wesley Dawkins, UNK, major dec. Studd Morris, 8-0.
141 – Nate Keim, UCO, dec. Nick James, 3-1 (SV).
149 – Brik Filippo, UCO, dec. Sam Turner, 3-1 (SV).
157 – Ty Lucas, UCO, dec. Jacob Wasser, 8-2.
165 – Matt Malcolm, UNK, tech. fall Hunter Jump, 15-0.
174 – Austin Eldredge, UNK, tech. fall Tre'Vaughn Craig, 17-0.
184 – Billy Higgins, UNK, dec. Heath Gray, 3-2.
197 – Dalton Abney, UCO, dec. Hayden Prince, 6-0.
Hvy – Shawn Streck, UCO, dec. Lee Herrington, 5-2.