Rowell pinned fourth-ranked Taylor May in 4:49 of their 165-pound battle to give the Bronchos a 17-10 lead and the two teams split the last four matches to leave UCO with its second win in a week over the Lopers.
The Bronchos, who edged UNK 21-19 in the third-place match of the NWCA Division II National Duals last Sunday in Cedar Falls, Iowa, improved to 8-3 with their eight win in nine outings.
UCO also got a technical fall from 141-pounder Kyle Evans, while 184 Heath Jolley and 197 Jarrett Edison both had easy wins and undefeated Tim Elliott picked up a forfeit at 133 as the Bronchos overcame two one-point losses and an overtime defeat.
Rowell's win was the biggest as the Duncan sophomore decked May late in the second period. May had escaped early in the second stanza to break a scoreless tie, with Rowell taking May down to his back and scoring the pin with just 11 seconds left in the period to the delight of the roaring crowd.
"Cody came through for us, no doubt about it," said UCO coach David James, who picked up his 301st career win. "He did a great job getting the takedown and we were happy with that, but he just kept going and put him on his back to get a big fall.
"We lost some close matches that we've got to find a way to win, but overall I was pretty pleased with our effort."
UNK took a 4-0 lead with a major decision in the opening match at 125, then Elliott moved to 10-0 with his forfeit at 133 to put the Bronchos on top to stay. The top-ranked Evans followed with his eight technical fall of the season, racking up four near-falls en route to a 17-0 rout to make it 11-4.
The Lopers pulled out tough wins in the next two matches, getting a 3-2 victory from No. 8 Ryan Etherton over No. 7 Colby Robinson at 149 and a 3-1 sudden-victory decision from No. 2 Joe Ellenberger over fifth-rated Jason Leavitt at 157 to make it 11-10.
Rowell notched his clutch fall in the next match to increase the lead to 17-11, then UNK's Keenan McCurdy came back with a 4-3 win over Daniel Morrison at 174 to pull the Lopers within 17-14.
UCO clinched it with wins by Jolley and Edison.
Jolley used a second-period near-fall to overcome a 3-2 deficit and added two third-period takedowns for an 11-4 triumph at 184 and Edison piled up four minutes riding time in a methodical 5-0 decision at 197 that wrapped up the dual.
Top-ranked and defending national champion Tervel Dlagnev downed Dustin Finn 10-5 in the final match to arrange the final score.
UCO goes back on the road next week, traveling to Alamoso, Colo.to meet No. 5-ranked Adams State next Thursday before going on to Gunnison on Saturday for the Western State Duals.
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