"Our guys just kept working and working and lot of them ended up scoring takedowns at the end," Head Coach Jim Andrassy said. "It wasn't our best performance, but winning's important. If you keep at it, the better wrestler usually ends up winning."
Senior Ian Miller took care of business with the only major decision of the day, a 15-4 win over Tim Schaefer. Miller put together seven takedowns, extending Kent State's lead to 13-3 at the midway point.
Del Vinas earned the first of seven wins for Kent State's seniors with a 3-2 victory over Kyle Akins. Vinas took advantage of an Akins shot in the first period and spun around behind for the pivotal takedown.
Mack McGuire fought off a late rally by Bryan Lantry for a 10-7 victory. McGuire scored takedowns in each period and secured riding time.
In a very physical 149-pound match, Mike DePalma was hit with a pair of penalty points and found himself trailing 7-6 late in the third. But with 14 seconds left, DePalma got in on a shot near the edge and rode out Colt Cotten to come away with an 8-7 victory.
The first overtime victory came from Tyler Buckwalter, who needed a reversal late in the third to force the extra period at 165 pounds. In sudden victory, Buffalo's Tyler Rill got behind Buckwalter, who refused to go down to the mat and countered at the edge to scramble his way to a 5-3 win.
The wild endings continued at 174 as Mike Vollant topped Muhammed McBryde 3-1. With two seconds left on the clock, Vollant scored the only takedown of the match. McBryde had flattened Vollant on a shot and nearly spun behind, before Vollant re-gripped McBryde's leg and sent him backwards.
In a similar match, Cole Baxter scored a takedown with 17 seconds left for a 3-1 win over Joe Ariola at 184. Baxter worked a front headlock and spun behind for the lone takedown.
Redshirt freshman Kyle Conel absorbed two head butts for penalty points, including one in overtime for a 9-8 win over James Benjamin. Conel escaped with three seconds left in regulation to force sudden victory at 197.
Joining Conel for his first career MAC dual victory was Stephen Suglio at heavyweight. Staying aggressive in the final minute, Suglio converted a takedown with four seconds left to seal a 6-4 win.
"Stephen's done a really good job of figuring out how heavyweights wrestle," Andrassy said.
Off to their best start in dual meets in six years, the Golden Flashes host defending MAC champion Missouri Sunday, Dec. 20.
Results:
125: Del Vinas (KSU) over Kyle Akins (UB), dec. 3-2
133: Mack McGuire (KSU) over Bryan Lantry (UB), dec. 10-7
141: Brandon Lappi (UB) over Chance Driscoll (KSU) 4-0
149: Mike DePalma (KSU) over Colt Cotten (UB), dec. 8-7
157: Ian Miller (KSU) over Tim Schaefer (UB), maj. dec. 15-4
165: Tyler Buckwalter (KSU) over Tyler Rill (UB), dec. 5-3 (SV)
174: Mike Vollant (KSU) over Muhamed McBryde (UB), dec. 3-1
184: Cole Baxter (KSU) over Joe Ariola (UB), dec. 3-1
197: Kyle Conel (KSU) over James Benjamin (UB), dec. 9-8 (SV)
285: Stephen Suglio (KSU) over Jake Gunning (UB), dec. 6-4
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