Second-ranked junior Josh Asper earned his fifth pin of the season and improved to 19-0, but it was 20th-ranked Shane Gentry and Geoffrey Alexander's early performances that propelled Maryland to its 12th dual victory.
Following an 8-4 decision for Gentry at 125 to open the meet, Alexander took command of his matchup against Ben Elliott within the first two minutes of the first period. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native recorded three takedowns halfway through the period and added a 3-point near-fall and a 2-point near-fall to close the frame. Alexander won a 19-2 technical fall and increased the Maryland lead to 8-0.
"The 125 pounder is the catalyst for everything," said head coach Kerry McCoy. "It was a huge win for Shane. Geoff fed off of that. I tell our guys to focus on wrestling well. I think Geoff did a good job with that. He had confidence and went out there looking to score points. He knew he had to go out there and give a good performance for himself and his team."
At 165, Asper quickly executed against Nijel Jones. The Parkton, Md., native tallied a takedown and 3-point near-fall within 35 seconds of the opening period. Asper added another takedown before pinning Jones with 1:25 remaining in the first period.
For the fifth straight dual meet, 12th-ranked Kyle John earned bonus points for the Terps. After pinning Navy's Bobby Barnhisel Friday night, John won a major decision over Colton Palmer without surrendering a point.
"The guys wrestled well. It's the first time in a while we put forth the overall, solid team effort. Things we were talking about and things we are doing are starting to show and it's at the right time. We are peaking towards the end of the year. This is a solid win to show we are doing the right things," McCoy said.
Maryland returns to action in Chapel Hill, N.C., Friday at 7 p.m. against the Tar Heels.
Results:
125: No. 20 Shane Gentry (MD) dec. Colin Fought (NCSU), 8-4 (3-0)
133: Geoffrey Alexander (MD) tech. fall over Ben Elliott (NCSU), 19-2, 4:46 (8-0)
141: No. 13 Darius Little (NCSU) dec. Frank Goodwin (MD), 7-5 SV (8-3)
149: Ben Dorsay (MD) dec. Matt Nereim (NCSU), 6-2 (11-3)
157: No. 12 Kyle John (MD) major dec. Colton Palmer (NCSU), 8-0 (15-3)
165: No. 2 Josh Asper (MD) fall over Nijel Jones (NCSU), 1:35 (21-3)
174: No. 15 Jimmy Sheptock (MD) dec. Quinton Godley (NCSU), 7-0 (24-3)
184: Robert O'Neill (NCSU) dec. Ty Snook (MD), 4-3 (24-6)
197: No. 5 Christian Boley (MD) dec. KaRonne Jones (NCSU), 6-4 (27-6)
285: Joshua Davis (NCSU) won by forfeit, (27-12)
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