Iowa State wrestling needed a win at Hilton Coliseum on Friday, the Cyclones fell short.

Going against No. 21 Northern Iowa, Iowa State was in desperate need to pick up an upset victory to help steer the team’s confidence back.

The Cyclones dropped the dual 20-12.

The dual started off even between both teams.

At 149 pounds, No. 8 Max Thomsen grabbed the first victory for Northern Iowa over Chase Straw by major-decision.

Iowa State shot back with a thrilling victory at 157 pounds where Colston DiBlasi and Paden Moore would scramble and trade points for nearly the entire third period.

It was with a reversal and two four-point near-fall that DiBlasi cemented a 12-8 win.

A loss at 165 put Iowa State down 8-3 when the first marquee matchup of the night was up.

At 174, No. 9 Lelund Weatherspoon and No. 11 Tayler Lujan battled it out in all the way to the end.

The third period featured a Lujan takedown, where Lujan his feet stayed in at the edge of the mat like a football receiver keeping hold of an escaping Weatherspoon, and a last second escape from Weatherspoon to tie the match up.

Weatherspoon won 10-8 in sudden victory when he got a single leg hold and picked Lujan’s ankle off the mat and slid past him.

Iowa State took the lead back 9-8 with a Pat Downey win over No. 15 Drew Foster at 184.

From there the Panthers drained the energy from the Cyclones.

A loss at 197 after Marcus Harington gave up in the last 30 seconds of the dual left coach Kevin Jackson furious when Harrington dropped his headgear on the mat.

Heavyweight Quean Smith, 125 pounder Kyle Larson and 133 pounder No. 12 Earl Hall all lost by decision giving Northern Iowa the dual victory, 20-12.

Smith and Hall both lost in sudden death, with Hall’s opponent Josh Alber being ranked No. 10 at 133.