For a while at Sunday’s dual wrestling meet at Nebraska’s Bob Devaney Sports Center, it looked like the Cyclones were going to pull off the win.

But the tail end of the squad struggled with the last two matches, and Iowa State came out on the short end of the stick. They fell to the Cornhuskers, 20-18.

Things started off brighter for the Cyclones, though. Cody Sanderson, our 118-pounder, spanked Nebraska’s Todd Beckerman in a 9-1 major decision. Sanderson didn’t allow his opponent a single takedown and put ISU on the board, 4-0.

Dwight Hinson, ranked fourth in the nation, kept the streak going at 126 pounds.

He edged by Jeramie Welder, 6-4, and upped the team score to 7-0.

The Cyclones struggled a bit at 134 and 142 pounds, Nebraska evened the score at 7-7 by the time Chris Bono took the mat.

The defending national champion at 150 pounds pounded his opponent, Ryan Bauer, into the mat with a 19-6 major decision.

The win pushed the Cyclones up 11-7.

At 167 pounds, Bart Horton got back on the winning track with a decisive win over Monte Christenson, 7-2.

Top-ranked Barry Weldon kept up the Cyclones’ winning ways at 177 pounds with a major decision against Nebraska’s Charles McTorry.

Weldon’s dominance boosted the team score to 18-10.

But a celebration of victory was premature. Nebraska still had some punch left.

At 190 pounds, Matt Mulvihill of Iowa State kept his opponent Scott Munson at bay until the third period. Munson then scored a reversal and the fall shortly thereafter, at 6:03.

The pin elevated Nebraska’s team score to 16, within two points of Iowa State.

The heavyweight match drove the proverbial nail through Iowa State’s coffin. Nebraska’s two-time All-American Tolly Thompson scored a major decision over ISU’s Trent Hynek, pushing Nebraska to an 18-20 victory.

The win improved Nebraska’s record to 11-4, while the Cyclones fell to 4-6-1.

Iowa State’s next meet is this Friday at Missouri.