Timely wins propel No. 1 Penn State over No. 9 Ohio State

Momentum is a key component in big matches, no matter the sport or level.

It can swing from one side to the other in the matter of moments. Also, when 15,983 people show up in favor of the home team, it makes things that much easier.

On Friday night, No. 1 Penn State started on the opposite end of the spectrum, with the momentum in No. 9 Ohio State’s corner. In the end, thanks to those 15,983 people and timely wins, the momentum was on the Nittany Lions’ side in their 24-14 wrestling victory over the Buckeyes at the Bryce Jordan Center.

“Yeah, pretty pleased,” Penn State’s Bo Nickal said, impersonating Cael Sanderson. “It was a good overall team effort. Moving forward, wrestling tough the whole match so it’s good to see.”

“That’s exactly what I was going to say,” Sanderson said with a laugh. “I think overall we wrestled well. That’s a tough team and a tough team to score points on.”

Nickal, along with Jordan Conaway and Zain Retherford, earned those timely wins the Nittany Lions needed to regain control of the match.

“Every win was big,” Sanderson said. “We needed bonus points from Zain and Nolf and they went out and got that. We needed bonus points from McIntosh and he went out and got that done.”

At 165 pounds, Ohio State’s Bo Jordan picked up a hard-fought 3-2 win over Geno Morelli. The win pulled the Buckeyes within 13-9 out of the break and they silenced the crowd. That’s when Nickal stepped up.

The redshirt freshman squared off with Myles Martin for the second time this year. The pair faced each other in the Nittany Lion Open finals with Nickal scoring a 4-3 victory. This time Nickal won by more. However, he had to rally in the third period for the victory.

“I wasn’t really thinking specific,” Nickal said. “I was just kind of thinking keep wrestling. I just had to wrestle how I do.”

Trailing 2-1, Nickal went to work on Martin. He escaped and strung together two takedowns to claim a 6-5 lead after Martin collected two near-fall points. Then, he turned Martin for his own near fall points and opened up a 10-5 lead. A riding point made for an 11-5 Nickal win.

In the dual opener, which could be a preview of the NCAA finals, Nico Megaludis squared off with reigning 125-pound NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello. The pair got through the first period scoreless. In the final frame, Megaludis shot in for a takedown too quickly and Tomasello countered for a takedown of his own with 10 seconds remaining. It’s all Tomasello needed for the 3-1 win and Ohio State led 3-0.

Conaway came through for Penn State at 133 pounds. He, like Nickal, had to rally for the win over Johnni DiJulius.

“I thought Jordan’s match was huge,” Sanderson said. “He went out there and was down four points and found a way to win. Those four points were early. It looked like Jordan was going to have a hard time getting off the bottom. Jordan is a fighter and he is going to keep wrestling the whole time.

“If you’re looking at it match by match, if we don’t win that (match) it gets a lot tougher to win the dual. He did a great job.”

Conaway earned an escape with 25 seconds left in the first period. He went on the attack and scored a takedown with seven seconds remaining to go to the second down 4-3.

Conaway claimed the lead thanks to an escape and a takedown, and he went to the third up 6-3. In the third, a solid riding effort on top helped Conaway tally 1:44 in riding time. At the one-minute mark of riding time, the crowd stood to their feet as they knew it was all Conaway’s. The redshirt senior battled back for an 8-4 win and tied the dual at 3-3 for the Nittany Lions.

“I think it’s important,” Conaway said of his win. “The rest of the guys are still going to stay focused and do what they need to do. It helps out getting those wins at the lower weights.”

Following Conaway’s win, Penn State’s Jimmy Gulibon lost 6-3 to No. 4 Micah Jordan, and Ohio State had a 6-3 lead.

However, Retherford, like he has all season, came through for the Nittany Lions. He did it in a big way and handed Penn State a lead it wouldn’t give up the rest of the night.

The redshirt sophomore scored three takedowns before putting Sal Maradino on his back. Retherford tallied his 10th pin of the year with 30 seconds remaining in the first period.

Jason Nolf earned a 19-6 major decision over No. 11 Jake Ryan to push the Nittany Lions’ lead to 13-6 heading into the break.

Matt McCutcheon, who was named the Ridge Riley award winner, made a return to the Penn State lineup after suffering a knee injury against Illinois. McCutcheon wrestled with a big brace on his left leg but it didn’t seem to faze him.

“It’s pretty normal now,” he said. “I practiced with it all week. It’s not a big deal. It’s not very limiting so just go out there and wrestle the same way I did before this happened.”

The sophomore took on Kenny Courts, who topped him in the NCAA quarterfinals last season. McCutcheon got his revenge with a 4-0 victory. In the win, McCutcheon used a strong third-period ride, which kept Courts from ever getting to his feet.

“It means a lot,” McCutcheon said of the win. “Last year, I thought about that match a long time. This one was important to me. It was pretty important to get back for this match. I’m feeling great and now I’m back to focusing on getting better and getting ready for March.”

Morgan McIntosh used six third-period takedowns en route to a 24-9 technical fall of Josh Fox to lock up Penn State’s victory.

Kyle Snyder, who became the youngest world champion in USA Wrestling history, earned the only other Ohio State victory and did it in impressive fashion. He tallied nine of the Buckeyes’ 15 takedowns in a 24-9 technical fall of Jan Johnson at heavyweight.

“He’s just a big, strong kid and was real explosive and fast,” Sanderson said. “He’s a world champion. Outside of John Smith, his senior year, how often do you have a world champion on your team? And he’s a sophomore. So he’s pretty good.”

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 10:01 PM with the headline "Timely wins propel No. 1 Penn State over No. 9 Ohio State."