Déjà vu is a understatement for Nebraska's big men - a reoccurring dream is more like it.
Nebraska heavyweight Tucker Lane began the Cornhuskers' trip to Norman, Okla., with a 3-1 decision over Sooners' 16th-ranked Nathan Fernandez. After the two traded escapes in the second and third periods, NU's 19th-ranked redshirt freshman was able to score the deciding takedown with 38 seconds remaining in the match.
The upset proved vital in the Huskers' 18-15 victory.
"I was pretty sure I needed to pull the upset," Lane said. "We had some injuries in the lower weights, and I knew we had to make some things up. I knew I had to wrestle my best today."
After the opening win, NU lost the following four matches, including a major decision at 125 pounds and a technical fall at 149. When it came time for third-ranked Jordan Burroughs to take the mat after intermission at 157 pounds, the Huskers were staring at a 15-3 deficit.
"Coach took us back to the locker room and told us, ‘Hey we‘ve been in this situation before,'" Lane said. "Our guys went out there, didn't try to do too much, stayed within themselves and did what they needed to do."
Similar to many duals this season, NU's big men were able to turn the tide. By stringing together four decisions, the Huskers broke even with the Sooners and entered the final match at 197 pounds.
With the dual riding on his match, junior Craig Brester left no doubt as to which was the better team Sunday, scoring a 5-2 decision over OU's 11th-ranked Eric Lapotsky.
"You don't think about the team score," Brester said. "You just go out there, and do what you know how to do."
The five-match win streak to end the dual was no walk in the park for the considerably battle-tested big men. After having multiple duals depend on their performance, the Huskers responded to Oklahoma's grit.
"Probably in eight of our last 10 duals I don't think we've had any amount of a (comfortable) lead at all," head assistant coach Mike Greenfield said. "We just keep winning."
Many times this season, NU has leaned on bonus-point victories to avoid wins to take the pressure off each individual match. But without recording a single bonus-point match against the Sooners, the team was forced to grit out close decisions in the final five matches, including the final three that were decided by thin, three-point margins.
Along with Brester's big win, senior Brandon Browne recorded a solid 6-3 decision over seventh-ranked Jeff James. With less than a minute remaining, James scored an escape, pulling the match within one point.
Third-ranked Browne answered with a takedown, scoring with just two seconds to go.
"Brandon's been in a lot of big matches," Greenfield said. "We were just telling him to keeps his hands down, keep wrestling and do what he does."
Stephen Dwyer, at 165 pounds, and 184-pound Vince Jones comprised the other Husker victories, winning by 4-0 and 3-0 decisions, respectively. The win over No. 14 Oklahoma was NU's seventh against ranked opponents.
"(Oklahoma) maintained position and kept the score close." Brester said. "It's always good having a win in the Big 12, it's a big dual win."
davehoufek@dailynebraskan.com
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