Bulls Edge Bearcats, 19-16

Sunday, January 3

Buffalo

1/3/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo wrestling team edged Binghamton, 19-16, on Sunday evening at Alumni Arena. Sophomore Kevin Smith propelled the Bulls to victory as he earned his third technical fall of the season at 133. Earning bonus points for the Bulls were junior Jimmy Hamel and senior Dan Bishop as each recorded major decisions at 197 and 125, respectively.

The Bulls (6-1-1) captured opening decisions at 149 and 157 to create a 6-0 margin. At 149, sophomore Desi Green defeated the Bearcats' Donnie Vinson, 4-3. Following a first period consisting of simultaneous lockups, Green broke the scoreless match as he took down Vinson with just three seconds remaining in the period. With Green holding a 4-0 advantage, Vinson brought the match within reach off an escape, penalty and riding time but Green held on for the win.

Senior Andrew Stella earned the Bulls' second decision as he defeated Ryan McGarity, 3-1. After a scoreless first period and a pair of stalling calls to start the second period, Stella escaped McGarity's clutch in the final 30 seconds of the second period. To start the third, McGarity tied the match at 1-1 off an escape. Stella would capture his 25th career dual victory by taking down McGarity with just five seconds left on the clock for the decision.

"Andrew is wrestling strong so far this season. He is continually showing improvement each step of the way. His bout was a match we needed to win," said head coach Jim Beichner.

The Bearcats earned victories in the next three bouts to erase the Bulls' team score lead, 9-6.

At 197, Hamel brought the Bearcats' string of victories to an end, winning by major decision over Matt Berretta, 16-5 to recapture the Bulls' lead 10-9. In both the first and second periods, Hamel would record late takedowns with no time remaining on the clock to build his lead. His six takedowns would help propel him to his 35th career dual victory.

Trailing 13-10 following the 285-pound bout, Bishop kept James Inghram and the Bearcats off the scoresheet, winning by an 8-0 decision. Off the start, Bishop came out aggressive as he took down Inghram just 16 seconds in. Bishop would continue to add to his lead in the remaining periods by wrestling aggressively on top. Bishop earned 2:46 of riding time throughout the match to earn the major decision. A key moment in the match came with Inghram on the bottom and only 12 seconds remaining in the bout. Bishop was able to ride Ingrham, preventing an escape. Bishop riding out Inghram provided the Bulls with a four-point victory rather than a three-point victory if Inghram had escaped.

Holding a one-point lead with two bouts remaining, Smith widened the Bulls' advantage off a technical fall victory, his team-leading third technical fall. Three times Smith found himself in the position to seal the deal. On each of those instances, Smith earned three-point nearfalls. The sophomore broke the match open as he recorded a reversal putting the Bearcats' Robert Slavin to his back for one of three-point nearfalls. Smith sealed the technical fall victory in his final attempt to pin Slavin at 6:13.

"Obviously, the dual came down to bonus points. Smith, Hamel and Bishop each earned us the bonus points we needed for the victory. The outcome would have changed if that was not the case", said Beichner.

With today's victory, Beichner improves his all-time record against the Bearcats to 7-1.

The Bulls return to action on Saturday, January 9 as they compete in the National Duals held in Cedar Falls, IA on the campus of Northern Iowa. A schedule of who and when the Bulls will compete against will be released in the upcoming week.