What happened

The Huskies (10-11, 2-5 MAC) beat the Buffalo Bulls (5-14, 0-8 MAC), 26-10, Friday at Victor E. Court on Senior Night.

How it happened

The Huskies won six of the final seven matches after dropping two of the first three matches to open the dual.

The Bulls pulled within 14-10 of NIU with a major decision win at 184 pounds, but the Huskies responded with back-to-back wins to seal the victory. Redshirt sophomore Shawn Scott took a 9-5 decision at 197 pounds, and redshirt junior Arthur Bunce grinded out a 2-0 win by decision at 285 pounds.

NIU won four matches by decision, two by major decision and one by pin. Buffalo’s three victories came via two decisions and one major decision.

Northern Star wrestlers of the dual

NIU senior Derek Elmore made sure to go out in style in the final match of Senior Night. The Huskies had already locked up the victory after winning the preceding match, but Elmore said he was determined to win anyway. Elmore pinned Buffalo redshirt senior Max Soria, who came into the match with a 21-7 record, with 1:02 left in the first period.

Buffalo redshirt freshman Joe Ariola picked up the Bulls’ only extra-point victory. He scored a win by major decision, 13-5, over NIU freshman Quinton Rosser at 184 pounds. His win was the Bulls’ only victory of the final seven matches.

The quotes

“My four years here I’m 0-2 against this kid, so I wanted revenge,” said senior Derek Elmore. “My last year, the last time I have this kid since he’s not going to be at the MAC [Championships] I wanted to beat him my last time out there. Third time’s the charm. I just went out there. I knew I had that headlock in my back pocket; it’s not my go-to, but [assistant] coach [Daryl] Thomas, he told me if I felt it go for it.”

“It really wasn’t that we came out flat and on the defensive; it’s that Buffalo likes to hold and pull and really slow things down,” said head coach Ryan Ludwig. “So, you know, you have to weather that and eventually break through with your passes and snaps. Where we got our hands raised we were able to do that. In some cases we weren’t able to do that, and that’s where things didn’t go our way.”

Up next

The Huskies close the regular season 2 p.m. Sunday at Victor E. Court against the Old Dominion Monarchs.