CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Vikings (3-7, 1-2) fought till the end but came up short against NIU (9-2, 3-1) by a score of 28-15 on Friday evening.

The Huskies won the first five matches with two falls, a tech fall, and a decision to lead 23-0.

The Vikings got on the board as Tate Geiser prevailed at 165-pounds, 2-1. DeAndre Nassar then followed a thrilling 4-1 sudden victory at 174-pounds to trail 23-6.

NIU halted the momentum behind a tech fall at 184-pounds to make it 28-6. Ben Smith pulled off a huge fall in 6:41 of his 197-pound match to pull within 28-12. No. 25 Daniel Bucknavich ended the night with a 2-1 decision against the No. 31 ranked heavyweight as the Green and White fell, 28-15.

The Vikings remain at home to face Ohio University on Friday, January 26 for Youth Night at 7 p.m.

Final Score: Cleveland State 15, NIU 28
125: Blake West (NIU TF Ben Aranda (CSU), 16-1 | NIU leads 5-0
133: Nathaniel Genobana (NIU) DEC Nick Molchak (CSU), 15-8 | NIU leads 8-0
141: Jacob Brya (NIU) FALL Connor Saylor (CSU), 2:00 | NIU leads 14-0
149: Jaivon Jones (NIU) FALL Douglas Terry (CSU), 3:30 | NIU leads 20-0
157: Tulga Zuunbayan (NIU) DEC Shane Heil (CSU), 14-7 | NIU leads 23-0
165: Tate Geiser (CSU) DEC Tommy Bennett (NIU), 2-1 | NIU leads 23-3
174: DeAndre Nassar (CSU) DEC Hayden Pummel (NIU), 4-1 SV |NIU leads 23-6
184: Matt Zuber (NIU) TF Joey Lyons (CSU), 17-2 | NIU leads 28-6
197: Ben Smith (CSU) FALL Sean Carroll (NIU), 6:41 | NIU leads 28-12
285: No. 25 Daniel Bucknavich (CSU) DEC No. 31 Jacobi Jackson (NIU), 2-1 | NIU leads 28-15
Extra Matches
165: Daniel Patten (CSU) DEC Jake Evans (NIU), 5-0
174: Ricardo Salinas (NIU) FALL Ronald Dimmerling (CSU), 2:05