2014 Men’s Basketball
Championship
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Third-ranked Penn State reeled off seven consecutive wins to run away from No. 2 Iowa in a marquee Big Ten dual today in sold out Rec Hall. Nearly 7,000 fans came to their feet as true freshman Morgan McIntosh clinched the dual with a win against Iowa All-American Grant Gambrall at 197.
The bout began with a thriller at 125, where No. 2 Matt McDonough of Iowa was taken to sudden victory by talented Penn State freshman Nico Megaludis, ranked No. 8. The true freshman dropped a 3-1 (sv) decision. Iowa followed that up with a pin at 133, where No. 2 Tony Ramos pinned Lion sophomore Frank Martellotti. The Hawkeyes made it three in a row out of the gates when No. 3 Montell Marion posted a hard-fought 7-3 decision against Penn State junior Bryan Pearsall at 141.
| TOP 25 RESULTS |
|---|
| No. 1 Oklahoma State 33, Iowa State 7 |
| No. 3 Penn State 22, No. 2 Iowa 12 |
| No. 4 Minnesota 37, Wisconsin 3 |
| No. 6 Illinois 26, Michigan State 13 |
| No. 7 Nebraska 24, Purdue 9 |
| No. 10 Michigan 23, No. 19 Central Michigan 14 |
| No. 11 Oklahoma 33, Arizona State 7 |
| No. 13 Maryland 27, NC State 12 |
| No. 23 Virginia Tech 29, North Carolina 12 |
| No. 24 Rutgers 20, Navy 19 |
Penn State got on the scoreboard at 149 when Nittany Lion senior Frank Molinaro, ranked No. 1, dominated Iowa’s Mike Kelly to the tune of an 11-5 decision. The three-time All-American had over 3:00 in riding time. Red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton, ranked No. 8 at 157, followed that up with a sound 5-3 win against Iowa’s Nick Moore and Penn State trailed 12-6 at the break.
Nittany Lion All-American David Taylor, ranked No. 1 at 165, dominated No. 6 Mike Evans of Iowa to the tune of a 9-4 decision with over 3:00 in riding time. Fellow All-American Ed Ruth, ranked No. 2 at 174, then hammered No. 9 Ethan Lofthouse, posting a dominating 10-1 major decision with 2:45 in riding time as well. Defending national champion Quentin Wright, ranked No. 2 at 184, posted a solid 8-2 win over Iowa’s Vinnie Wagner, setting up the heroics at 197.
McIntosh, ranked No. 12 at 197, took returning Hawkeye All-American Grant Gambrall to sudden victory tied a 3-3 and then sent a packed Rec Hall into hysterics with a takedown and a 5-3 (sv) win. The win clinched the dual and then Nittany Lion senior Cameron Wade, ranked No. 6 at heavyweight, closed it out with a superb 4-0 win against Iowa’s Blake Raising.
The Nittany Lions are now 8-1 overall, 4-1 in the Big Ten, while Iowa falls to 9-3, 4-2 in the loop. While Penn State only managed one bonus point (on Ruth’s major), Penn State dominated the dual by winning seven of the ten bouts and posting an 18-10 takedown advantage.
Penn State’s next action will be against Ohio State on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. ET, in an already sold out Rec Hall.
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