Friday’s dual meet between NIU and Central Michigan University was a tale of two halves, but in the end the Chippewas prevailed 23-12.

The Huskies (7-5, 0-3 MAC) won three of the first five matchups and had a 9-7 lead on the 12th ranked Chippewas (9-3, 3-0 MAC). At 133 pounds, junior Nick Smith got the Huskies on the board with a 5-3 victory, making the dual meet score 4-3 in favor of CMU.

At 141 pounds, redshirt junior Kevin Fanta followed that up with an 8-2 victory over Central Michigan’s Scott Mattingly.

To finish the first half, freshman Andrew Morse defeated Luke Smith 5-1.

After the intermission, the Chippewas won four of the last five matches. Included in those four victories was a major decision by Mike Ottinger over NIU redshirt junior Dan Burk at 165 pounds 13-5.

At 174, CMU’s Ben Bennett, who ranks second nationally at this weight class, pinned NIU freshman Bryan Loughlin 42 seconds into the second period. The victory put the Chippewas up 20-9, which meant the Huskies would have to pin their last two opponents to come out with a victory, which did not happen.

Central Michigan’s head coach Tom Borrelli said his team took advantage of having three nationally ranked wrestlers in the five weight classes after halftime.

“Yeah, I just felt like, you know, we’re a little stronger in our upper weights,” Borrelli said. “Northern Illinois might be a little weaker right now. So, that was kind of the difference. I wouldn’t say anything changed. Right now we’re a little better than them in those weights.”

The lone victory of the second half for NIU came at 197 pounds, where redshirt sophomore Parker Settecase defeated Jackson Lewis 2-1.

Settecase said his defense was key in helping him pull off a hard-fought victory.

“Well, I was snapping down on his head a lot and keeping the pressure on his neck,” Settecase said. “So a lot of his shots were aimed down and I didn’t allow him to take any good ones.”

NIU coach Ryan Ludwig said his team has to continue to fight hard in the matches that might already be decided because the difference between a major decision and a regular loss can add up in any given dual.

“You constantly have to fight…even if you’re kind of in a situation where you’re gonna lose the match and you’re in a situation where you know you’re losing by seven and you can’t give up the major,” Ludwig said. “Those are the little battles that we have to fight for constantly and that’s a team-minded issue their. I think the guys are bought into the concept. They fight very hard to not get scored on in those positions.”