Boilermakers fall to Minnesota behind three pins; Tucker upsets No. 5 Lowe
Feb. 5, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Boilermaker wrestling team had the big individual upset of the evening, but it was not enough to defeat seventh-ranked Minnesota at the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility, 29-12. Purdue is now 7-10 overall and 1-4 in Big Ten action.
The highlight of the evening for the Boilermakers was at 125 pounds, where freshman Brandon Tucker (Broken Arrow, Okla.) pulled an 8-7 upset over Minnesota’s Bobbe Lowe, a senior ranked fifth in the nation.
“Overall, I was pleased with the effort from our guys tonight, “head coach Jessie Reyes said. “Although the final was not what we were hoping for, the effort was there.
“Tucker’s win was huge for him and for our team, “Reyes said. “He wrestled superbly, and I was happy for Wissel and Moore to finish the dual with wins for us. We had some losses that were tough on us, but wins at the end of the dual showed that our guys just won’t quit.”
After Purdue dropped its first match of the night, Tucker came to the mat vs. Lowe. After two scoreless minutes in the first period, Lowe scored the first points of the match with a takedown. The Boilermaker freshman came away with an escape and then a takedown of his own, gaining a 3-2 lead after one period.
The two battled through the second stanza and entered the final two minutes tied at 4-4. With 45 seconds remaining the score knotted at 6-6, Tucker executed the critical takedown that would give him an 8-6 lead. Lowe escaped, but Tucker would hang on to the one-point lead and come away with the upset victory.
The win by Tucker was his second of the year over a ranked opponent, having defeated then-19th-ranked Drew Opfer of Kent State on Jan. 16, 8-5.
Falls in the next two matches put Purdue down 18-3, but the Boilermakers would close that gap with a win by 10th-ranked 149-pounder Doug Withstandley (Jackson, N.J.) over Minnesota’s Danny Williams. A scoreless first period became a 3-0 Withstandley advantage after the second following an escape and takedown by the Boilermaker. In the third period, Withstandley would ride Williams for nearly the entire period for a 4-1 win.
Minnesota would once again jump on the Boilermakers, scoring major decisions at 157 and 165 pounds and a close decision at 174 to secure the dual.
Despite trailing 29-6, Purdue would not go quietly, gaining victories in the final two matches of the evening with wins by 14th-ranked 184-pounder Ben Wissel and 197-pounder Nate Moore.
Wissel (Richmond, Ind.) demonstrated an urgency on the mat not seen in recent matches, taking down Jeremy Larson just 10 seconds into the match. Wissel did not let up on the Gopher grappler, recording five takedowns in teh match and coming away with a 12-5 decision.
Moore (Indianapolis, Ind.) ended the dual with Minnesota in the same fashion he did Friday’s contest with Illinois, with a win at 197 pounds. Moore scored the first points of the match with a takedown with one minute remaining in the first period and led 2-1 at the period’s end. Holding a 3-2 lead with under one minute remaining on the mat, Moore got in on Koz’ legs and finished the takedown and built his riding time for a 6-3 win.
The Boilermakers’ will conclude the 2004-05 home schedule Friday, February 11, as Purdue plays host to the 11th-ranked Michigan State Spartans. The dual will be senior night, honoring Ben Sprunger (Bluffton, Ind.) and Rene Hernandez (Hammond, Ind.) and will be held in Mackey Arena at 7 p.m.
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