Kari Gibb/MDN MSU senior Wayne Joint takes on No. 8 Matthew Chi of the Parkside Rangers Thursday evening, December 19, at the MSU Dome.

Plenty of fight and a pair of early wins gave the Beavers hope, but in the end, the 3rd-ranked Parkside Rangers took home a 36-6 win over the Minot State University (MSU) men’s wrestling team in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) action at the MSU Dome.

MSU seniors Cannon Potts and Wayne Joint led the charge, each scoring victories on the night for the Beavers who saw three close matches slip away helping the Rangers (3-1 duals, 2-1 NSIC) grab the team win.

Eight of the Rangers grapplers are ranked compared to one currently for MSU. The only match that pitted ranked opponents was at the 285-lbs classification with the Rangers man ranked No. 7 and the Beavers wrestler ranked No. 11 currently.

Potts opened the evening battling his way to a 5-4 decision win in the 197-pound match against the Rangers’ Chase Stegall, then came the heavyweights as the Beavers’ 11th-ranked Jake Swirple battled No. 7 Lloyd Reynolds.

Tied up 1-1 in their 285 bout after regulation, an escape early in the first tie-breaker overtime period helped Reynolds snag a slip 2-1 decision win, evening the team score at 3-3.

After Parkside edged out in front with a technical fall win at 125 pounds, Joint stepped in and controlled his match, throughout, at 133 pounds to score an 8-3 decision win and close the gap to 8-6.

MSU (2-1, 0-1) couldn’t get closer, though the Beavers battled in match after match trying to close the gap.

Ethan Wonser lost a close 6-1 decision at 141 pounds, then a takedown in the final 30 seconds for 15th-ranked Dajun Johnson barely let him escape the upset bid of Brendan Barnes, who fell in a 5-4 decision at 165 pounds.

The Beavers now get a couple of weeks off to celebrate the holidays before returning to the mats on Monday, January 6, to host Minnesota State, Mankato at the MSU Dome.