Nebraska, ranked No. 14 in the nation, tangled with the Mountain Hawks into the eighth match of the night. David Craig scored a 9-4 decision over NU's Andy Johnson at 184 pounds to pull Lehigh within two as LU looked for the upset. Sophomore Levi Wofford went down early in his 197-pound match and the Huskers looked to be on the ropes. Wofford collected himself to take the lead with a dramatic takedown with three seconds left in the first period and crank up the Husker's momentum with a 13-4 major decision win over LU's Alex Iacocca. Wofford's win stretched the lead back to five and rousing victories by senior Jon May at heavyweight and junior Paul Donahoe at 125 capped the dual with three straight wins and a 15-point win for NU.
Nebraska found the Mountain Hawks to be a worthy adversary early in the dual. Lehigh jumped out to a 4-0 lead when Kevin Vinh recorded a 10-2 major decision over the Huskers' Austin Baier to start the dual at 133 pounds. Junior Robert Sanders tied the match at four with a 14-4 major decision at 141 as the Huskers won the next two matches behind sophomore Jordan Burroughs at 149 and junior Chris Oliver at 157 to stretch the lead to 12-4.
Lehigh asserted themselves back into the dual with a Mike Galante pin of Nebraska's Stephen Dwyer at 165 and cut the Huskers' down to two. Junior Brandon Browne gained NU some breathing room with an 11-5 decision over LU's Alex Caruso at 174, but Lehigh responded with Craig's win over Johnson.
Nebraska won the next three matches and Donahoe put an exclamation point on the dual at 125 pounds. Donahoe pinned LU's Mitch Berger in 1:29 to improve to 2-0 in his title defense.
The Huskers travel to the talent-filled Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha Saturday. The majority of NU's squad will compete in the one-day open tournament; with action beginning at 9 a.m. Donahoe will skip the Kaufman-Brand to prepare for the All-Star Classic in Eugene, Ore., on Monday.
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