On a night when veteran engines were sputtering, two underclassmen jump-started the NIU wrestling team.

Sophomore Jim Gussman and freshman Mel Heckman hit on all cylinders as the duo led the Huskies (8-10) past Eastern Illinois by a 25-17 count at Chick Evans Field House Wednesday.

“The difference was Gussman and Heckman,” NIU coach Ed Vatch said.

NIU’s outlook seemed bleak after Eastern raced out to a 15-0 advantage as the contest turned four matches old. Three NIU juniors were victimized by 3-0 decisions. And NIU forfeited the 134-pound match, giving the visitors the early lead.

“Initially, I thought we’d have to win one of the first two weights in order to win the match,” NIU coach Ed Vatch admitted.

That’s when Gussman turned things around. Sporting a 3-14 record, the 150-pounder revived the Huskies with a last-second two-point reversal over a 23-14 opponent. Gussman fell behind after two periods, but came up with the turnover with just seven seconds remaining to take a 4-3 victory.

Two Eastern forfeits later, NIU had tied the score at 15-all.

“It was kind of a chess match there for awhile,” Vatch said. “We were hoping they would forfeit to us there and it worked out good.”

Jim Kossakowski, wrestling ten pounds heavier than his regular 167 weight, pounded his foe by a 12-4 decision on points. The junior jumped out to a 5-0 lead after one period and added seven more in the final two minutes, upping his season ledger to 14-7.

Competing in the 190-pound weight, Heckman not only iced the Huskie victory, but gained a moral victory for himself with a 2:38 pin of Eastern’s Tom Carrol.

“Before (Heckman) went out there,” Vatch said, “I asked him if he wrestled the kid before and (Heckman) said that he had, and the kid beat him a couple times in high school—severely. I just told him that he wasn’t in high school anymore. So that’s why he was so excited at the end.”