GREAT FALLS, Mont. – It was a night where (7) University of Providence men's wrestling had their cake and ate it too. Starting three seniors for senior night, with multiple weight classes not featuring their usual starter, the Argos still managed to pull out a win over (T14) Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 22-20. The two teams wrestled less than a month ago at the National Duals. UP wrestled pretty much its full slate of starters and barely won that one 18-14.
 
"It's hard to believe that we pulled this one out. When we lost at 141 and were down at 157, it looked really bleak," Head Coach Caleb Schaeffer said. "Man, I'll tell you what, I can't believe that. I don't know how we won that dual to tell you the truth."
 
That dual swung on a 157 match that featured two ranked wrestlers, a last-second finish, and highly controversial call. UP's (5) Shonn Roberts, usually a 149 wrestler, moved up to 157 to face (T7) James Williams a returning All-American at 157. 
 
Early in the match, Robert's lack of strength against the larger wrestler looked like it could be a fatal weak point. He was taken down twice in the first period and trailed 6-2 late in the second period. The redshirt-sophomore kept the match close with a clutch reversal to end the period.
 
Still  behind 6-4 with 15 seconds left, Roberts forced Williams into a 1 point stalling call and seconds later took his first lead with a takedown. That takedown put Williams on his back and Roberts wasted no time going for the pin. With four seconds left in the match, the official slapped the mat, much to the frustration of ERAU's coach.
 
Roberts finished with a win by Fall (6:56). Had UP lost that match, the Argos would have trailed 15-3. Instead, the score went to a manageable 12-9. 
 
"That's a top seven kid in the country, plus Roberts went up a weight class. What an exclamation point to win that match right there," Schaeffer said. "If we don't win that match, we don't win the dual."
 
Thanks to the pin, UP found itself down 20-19 with one match left. That last match wouldn't be a pushover though, with UP's (8) Matt Hopkins facing (14) David Rupp of ERAU. When the two wrestled at the National Duals the dual was also on the line and Hopkins won a 4-1 decision.
 
It was even closer this time, with the match scoreless after the first two periods. Rupp got the choice for the start of the third period and chose to be on top. Hopkins made him pay for that choice, earning 1 point on the escape and holding steady after that to win a 1-0 decision and win the Argos the match. 
 
"That's the first heavyweight match that he's won where he realized he didn't have to pin the guy to win. That kid knows how to wrestle," Schaeffer said of Hopkins. "He wrestled a solid match without forcing stuff and that's what he's going to have to do to win matches at nationals."
 
The importance and drama of the 157 and 285 matches overshadowed two matches that were just as bigger or bigger for UP's individual rankings.
 
At 133, senior Isaac Wilson was given a chance to upset a ranked wrestler on his senior night. That last time the Argos met the Eagles, Wilson was a 125 wrestler but since then he moved up to 133 where he matched up against (T19) Collin Anderson.
 
Wilson got off to a great start with an early takedown that turned into a 4-point near fall. The match cooled off after, but the senior never gave up a takedown and almost pulled off a major decision. His 10-3 major decision win over a ranked 133 wrestler could allow him to slip into the national rankings before the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships.
 
The other big win came at 174 in a dominant performance from (5) Adrian Lyons-Lopez. The junior wrestled (12) Kody Davis, a returning All-American who Lyons-Lopez barely beat in a 9-7 decision.
 
A great takedown early in the first period gave the Argo an opportunity at an early pin. He earned a 4-point near fall but spent almost two whole minutes working the pin without getting the call. The only thing that ended his effort was the buzzer ending the first period.
 
In the second period, Davis managed to get Lyons-Lopez's left arm to stretch backward for an extended period of time before the official finally blew his whistle before the shoulder popped out of its socket.
 
Lyons-Lopez recovered and got another pin early in the third period and spent most of the rest of the match again trying for a pin to no avail. Even so, he still finished with a 10-1 major decision.
 
"Most guys get pinned there. Adrian doesn't give that up. That was a returning All-American and we dominated that match. We held him on his back for the whole first period."
 
The Argos did get the benefit of 6 points from an Eagle forfeit at 197, though that still could have been an extra point earning  match  for the Argos with (9) John Hensley waiting in the wings.
 
UP's dual record goes to 9-5 on the year. The team only has one event left before the CCC Tournament, a road dual against (T12) Montana State University-Northern on February 7 at 7:30 p.m.