The Binghamton men’s wrestling team extended its dual-win streak to three with a 29-10 win over Buffalo on Sunday afternoon. After seeing their early 11-point lead shrink to four, the Bearcats won four of the final five duals to secure a win in their final nonconference meet of the season.

“I thought we wrestled hard and did a nice job,” said Binghamton head coach Kyle Borshoff. “We pushed the pace in most the matches, and we controlled the center of the mat in most the matches. I thought the guys did a nice job getting a good win today.”

The Bearcats (10-8, 5-2 EIWA) took an early 3-0 lead over hosts Buffalo (4-12, 2-4 MAC) when sophomore Carson Wagner earned a hard-fought 7-2 victory in the 125-pound dual. In his first bout since BU’s dual at Cornell, graduate student Micah Roes secured an 11-1 major decision victory in the 133-pound bout to give the Bearcats a 7-0 lead. Redshirt junior Nate Lucier continued BU’s strong start with an 11-3 major decision victory in the 141-pound matchup as BU moved to an 11-0 lead.

“[Roes] did a great job pretty much every time that he attacked,” Borshoff said. “He got in on his opponent’s legs and gave himself a lot of opportunities to score points, and he was able to capitalize on most of those attempts and get that major decision in the dual early on. It was a nice way to set the tone of the pace for the rest of the match.”

After consecutive losses in the 149- and 157-pound matchups, the Bearcats saw their lead shrink to 11-7. Binghamton got back on track with a major decision victory in the 165-pound bout when junior Carter Baer earned an 8-0 win to take a 15-7 lead. Fifth-year Brevin Cassella and junior Cayden Bevis each earned wins in the 174- and 197-pound matchups, respectively, as Binghamton entered the final dual with a 23-10 lead over Buffalo.

“Just got to make sure we’re doing a better job of wrestling through 100 percent of positions and not expecting our opponents to give up points when we almost score,” Borshoff said. “I think that’s something we have to make sure we’re focused on, just continuing to wrestle until the official puts the points up on the board, and not expecting or anticipating that we are going to get the points.”

Graduate student Cory Day returned to Buffalo, where he won a Division II state championship for Iroquois High School back in 2019, to take on Robbie Unruh in the 285-pound matchup. After taking a commanding 15-2 lead early in the second period, Day secured a victory with his career-high 13th pin of the season, as the Bearcats took home a 29-10 victory over Buffalo.

“Day did a great job today,” Borshoff said. “We talked about him getting a few more takedowns today before looking for the fall, and that’s what he went out and did. He put himself in a position to score a lot of points in a lot of different ways, and he looked great.”

The Bearcats’ visit to Buffalo marked the first dual between the in-state foes since Donnie Vinson ‘13 took over as the Buffalo men’s wrestling head coach. The Bearcats’ win moved their season dual record to 10-8, with their EIWA record stationary at 5-2 as they prepare to take on Army in their final conference matchup before the championships.

The Bearcats will take on Army in their final EIWA dual on Sunday, Feb. 23. First bout is set for 2 p.m. at the Christl Arena in West Point, New York.