Everyone’s heard that close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

The NIU wrestling team grappled with this phrase during Friday’s meet against Mid-American Conference opponent Central Michigan University at Chick Evans Field House.

The Huskies (1-3-1 conference) lost the meet to the defending MAC champions 25-8, but the competition was much closer than the score reveals. CMU (3-0-0 conference) won 8 of the 10 bouts, but five of the victories were by 4 points or less.

“We were in most of those matches tonight,” said NIU wrestling coach Dave Grant. “I don’t think it is anything we can’t turn around before the MAC Championships.”

One of the marquee match-ups of the night was at the 141-pound weight class. Senior Ryan Egan, ranked 19th in the nation, faced-off against CMU’s 11th ranked Jason Mester. Egan was recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered against Ohio University the week before. The senior scored two quick takedowns to start the match, but Mester battled back and scored an escape and takedown for a 9-5 win.

“I think Ryan wrestled well,” Grant said. “He scored some quick points but then fell behind. We held him out of practice all week, so I think that didn’t help late in the match.”

Sophomore Marlon Felton also had a tough match against 20th ranked Ahmad Sanders. The bout remained close and a questionable takedown at the edge of the mat gave the victory to Sanders, 6-3.

At the 157-pound bout, junior Scott Owen scored a technical fall over CMU’s Brad Anderson and improved his MAC record to a perfect 5-0.

“Scott showed he is the best in the MAC. There is no one even close,” Grant said.

The Huskies then suffered another tough loss this weekend to Northern Iowa, 31-10. The Panthers are ranked 18th in the nation and hold a 9-7-0 record. Northern Iowa proved to be too much for the young Huskies as they recorded three pins in route to the win.

“We fought hard, but some of their tougher weights bumped up against our freshmen,” Grant said.

Egan, Owen and sophomore Bill Lowney continued to lead the team, posting NIU’s three wins in the match. Owen improved his team record to 24 wins in 28 matches. He defeated Brandon Livingood of NI, 22-10. Egan broke into the 20-win column with a victory over NI’s Mark Rial.

“Bill wrestled well today, and Scott and Ryan continue to put up wins for us,” Grant said.

NIU dropped below .500 for the season with a 6-7-2 record overall.