NEWBERRY, S.C. - The No. 2 Newberry College wrestling team pulled away from Grand Canyon in the team's final match of the Newberry Duals, going 3-0 on the day by beating the Lopes, 33-15.

Newberry (4-1) broke a 15-15 tie by rattling off three straight pinfalls to get the win over Grand Canyon (3-2).

“Grand Canyon gave a great effort,” said Newberry head coach Jason Valek. “Once again, we had to compete hard with a shorthanded lineup and got the win. We saw a lot of tough, high-quality Division II competition today and we fought hard at the end.”

Tied at 15 going into the 184 lbs. match, Bryant Blanton (Summerville, S.C.) picked up his third fall of the day's three Newberry contests when he pinned Kevin Treftz 1:36 into the match. Keeno Griffin (Jacksonville, Fla.) followed up at 197 lbs. with a pinfall of Adam Barnett a scant 53 seconds into the match, giving Newberry a 27-15.

Steven Butler (Cuddebackville, N.Y.) capped the run by pinning Brian Cooper 2:10 into the heavyweight match. Blanton, Griffin and Butler had each built a 2-0 lead against his opponent before ending the match with a fall. Butler's win pushed Newberry's lead to the final score of 33-15.

Newberry held the advantage in takedowns, 16-9, and produced 12 escapes to Grand Canyon's 13.

Matt Oliver (Toms River, N.J.) won by forfeit at 125 lbs. to give Newberry a 6-0 lead. Grand Canyon then took its first win with Todd Wilcox's 7-3 victory over Sheridan Moran (Lafayette, La.) to narrow Newberry's lead to 6-3.

The scarlet and gray roared back, starting with Deral Brown (Elgin, S.C.) winning his 141 lbs. match with an 18-7 major decision over Kyle Wilson. Latra Collick (Berlin, Md.) then earned a 16-3 technical fall over Daniel Rubio 7:28 into the match to extend Newberry's lead to 15-3.

Three straight Newberry loses brought the match even at 15, where the scarlet and gray then took advantage of the three falls to win.

Newberry finished the day 3-0 after taking down No. 19 Findlay, 36-7, and beating No. 3 Adams State, 42-7. Newberry and Grand Canyon wrestled in the final match of the Newberry Duals, the third installment of the event.

“We're very thankful that all the teams could make the trip to Newberry,” said Jason Valek. “We were able to see some great wrestling today, which always makes this event a success.”

Newberry will travel to Kent, Ohio on Sunday, December 13 for the team's next two matches. The scarlet and gray will face Division I opponents No. 20 Kent State at 11:05 a.m. and Michigan at 1:05 p.m.

No. 2 Newberry vs. Grand Canyon
125 Matt Oliver (NC) wins by forfeit
133 Todd Wilcox (GC) dec. Sheridan Moran, 7-3
141 Deral Brown (NC) MD Kyle Wilson, 18-7
149 Latra Collick (NC) TF Daniel Rubio, 16-3 (7:28)
157 Jonathan Urango (GC) fall Ernie Young, 2:03
165 Stephen Towne (GC) dec. Josh Whitelock, 3-2
174 Victor Carazo (GC) dec. Curtis Chenoweth, 11-5
184 Bryant Blanton (NC) fall Kevin Treftz, 1:36
197 Keeno Griffin (NC) fall Adam Barnett, 0:53
HWT Steven Butler (NC) fall Brian Cooper, 2:10