CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team lost to No. 19 Missouri 24-14 on the mats at Maclellan Gym Saturday night. Chattanooga recorded two major decisions and two decisions on the night.
The match began with the 184-lb. class as Chattanooga's Jason McCroskey dominated Todd Porter with a 12-1 major decision which included 4:24 of riding time to give the Mocs an early 4-0 advantage. Missouri answered right back in at 197 as 18th-ranked Brent Haynes posted a 15-4 major decision over Niko Brown. Brown trailed 11-0 at the end of the first period but battled head-to-head the rest of the way.
Demetrius Johnson got the Mocs back on track with a 5-1 decision over Eric Wilson which cut the Tigers lead to 9-7 after an unsportsmanlike penalty (one team point) on Ellis from the prior match. Nathan McCormick made it 13-7 Mizzou with a major decision (15-5) over Josh Statum. Statum battled through the final 30 seconds of the match to avoid a fall and only pass four points along to the Tigers.
The Tigers added a 6-3 decision at 141 as Nick Hucke used a three-point third period to get past Ben Johnson to make it 16-7. Dean Pavlou grabbed another major decision for the Mocs 10-2 over Brandon West pulling the Mocs within five, 16-11. Pavlou scored big with five third-period points to capture the major decision.
The 157 match went to overtime knotted at 1-1. Chattanooga's Josh Conden scored an escape in the second 30-second OT period to score the 2-1 upset over 16th-ranked Patrick Wright. That closed the score to just two with Mizzou up 16-14. Sixth-ranked Nick Marable put it out of reach for the Tigers with a 22-7 technical fall win at 165 over Bond Davis who wrestled up from his usual 157.
The feature match coming in was at 174 with the Mocs' 20th-ranked Jake Young tackling 10th-ranked Dorian Henderson. Young dropped a spirited 6-4 decision providing the final margin of 24-14.
Today's match was a part of a Chattanooga tripleheader with the men's and women's basketball teams. The Lady Mocs topped Western Carolina 68-66, while the men lost a battle of SoCon Division leaders 90-66 to College of Charleston.
The Mocs return to the mat on Jan. 24 as SoCon rival UNC Greensboro invades Maclellan Gym. The Sunday afternoon match begins at 2 p.m., and can be followed on GoMocs.com.
No. 19 Missouri 24, Chattanooga 14
184 - Jason McCroskey (UTC) - MAJ. DEC.12-1 - Todd Porter (MU) - UTC 4, MU 0
197 - No. 18 Brent Haynes (MU) - MAJ. DEC. 15-4 - Niko Brown (UTC) - Tied, 4-4
285 - No. 7 Mark Ellis (MU) - FALL (1:41) - Matt Lettner (UTC) - MU 10, UTC 4
Unsportsmanlike penalty to Mizzou - MU 9, UTC 4
125 - Demetrius Johnson (UTC) - DEC. 5-1 - Eric Wilson (Mizzou) - MU 9, UTC 7
133 - Nathan McCormick (MU) - MAJ.DEC. 15-5 - Josh Statum (UTC) - MU 13, UTC 7
141 - Nick Hucke (MU) - DEC. 6-3 - Ben Johnson (UTC) - MU 16, UTC 7
149 - Dean Pavlou (UTC) - MAJ.DEC. 10-2 - Brandon West (MU) - MU 16, UTC 11
157 - Josh Condon (UTC) - DEC. 2-1 (OT) - No. 16 Patrick Wright (MU) - MU 16, UTC 14
165 - No. 6 Nick Marable (MU) - TF5 22-7 - Bond Davis (UTC) - MU 21, UTC 14
174 - No. 10 Dorian Henderson (MU) - DEC. 6-4 - No. 20 Jake Young (UTC) - MU 24, UTC 14
Attendance: 838
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