Cornhuskers shuck the Tigers

Missouri lost in the final seconds of the match.

By Nick Forrester

Published Feb. 2, 2009

In front of a packed house on Saturday night at the Hearnes Center, the Missouri wrestling team looked to show the rest of the country they are a force to be reckoned with.

They were 44 seconds away from accomplishing that feat.

Wrestling against the No. 4 team in the country, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Missouri did everything right for the majority of the match. After eight matches, Missouri held a 15-10 lead, and it appeared the Tigers would be able to pull off their second straight upset.

But Missouri lost its final two bouts of the night, which was enough to give the Cornhuskers the win.

Coming off of an impressive win last weekend over Cornell's No. 16-ranked Justin Kerber, redshirt freshman Dorian Henderson was shutout by No. 11 Vince Jones, and junior Max Askren dropped a one-point, 5-4, loss to No. 2 Craig Brester.

"I'm really proud of the way we wrestled, it's just a tough way to lose," coach Brian Smith said. "We've got to attack more though."

After Jones defeated Henderson, Missouri led by two points going into the final match of the night between Askren and Brester. Prior to Sautrday, Askren defeated Brester four consecutive times before losing to him in their last meeting at the NCAA Championships in March.

On Saturday, Brester scored first by getting a takedown in the first period. Askren was able to tie the score up, and with one minute remaining, Askren took Brester down. He got reversed while trying to turn Brester with 44 seconds remaining in the match. The reversal gave Brester the lead and he was able to hang on for a 6-4 victory.

The teams split with five wins each, but Nebraska won by a major decision in the 133-pound weight class, enough to give them one bonus point.

Despite the Missouri loss, there were several bright spots for the Tigers. Junior Nick Marable and senior Raymond Jordan were both able to pull off upsets over higher-ranked opponents.

Marable wrestled against No. 4 Stephen Dwyer and was able to pull off the upset with a takedown in the second period and a reversal in the third.

"Marable's back in the groove," Smith said. "He's just one of the toughest kids on his feet and he just can't get taken down. He won't give up a takedown for the rest of the year."

In the following match, Jordan was able to pull off two takedowns and an escape to upset No. 2 Brandon Browne and give Missouri a five-point lead.

"A big thing our coaches have been working with us on is changing the speed," Jordan said. "When wrestlers turn up the tempo, they get real explosive, so it makes it harder for the other guy to defend."