DANVILLE, Va. — The Averett University men's wrestling team defeated St. Andrews University Wednesday night, 27-17.
 
Sophomore Sam Braswell got Averett off on the right foot at 125 pounds, as the Daytona Beach, Florida, native beat Corey Smith by major decision, 18-7. Braswell collected five takedowns to propel him to his 15th victory of the season and the 4-0 Cougar advantage.
 
St. Andrews would cut the Averett lead to 4-3 with a win by decision at 133 pounds. However, Averett would win the next two bouts to take a 13-3 lead in the dual. Sophomore Brandon Woody won in dominating fashion via a first period technical fall (19-0, 2:46). The 141-pounder scored a takedown followed by four 4-point near falls. Fellow sophomore Caleb Harmon nearly had a technical fall himself but settled for the 15-1 major decision at 149 pounds. Harmon registered two takedowns and eight points by near fall to extend the Averett lead.
 
The Knights would win by major decision at 157 pounds before Averett won the next three bouts to secure enough room for the dual victory. Freshman Jared Lough picked up his 17th win of the season as the Stafford, Virginia, native won by major decision, 12-3. Lough scored a takedown and two 4-point near falls in the first two and a half minutes of the match to run away with it. Sophomore Josh Linkous and freshman Demontay Wimbush then each picked up third period technical fall victories at 174 and 184 pounds respectively. Linkous had two takedowns and 10 points by near fall while Wimbush had five takedowns and eight points by near fall. These three consecutive victories gave Averett a 27-7 lead in the dual.
 
St. Andrews would win the final two bouts by major decision and fall, but it was not enough as the Cougars held on for the 27-17 win.
 
Averett returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 15, as the Cougars travel to Greensboro, North Carolina, for a pair of dual contests against McDaniel College and Greensboro College. The first dual against McDaniel is set to start at 4 p.m.
 
MATCH-BY-MATCH RESULTS
#125 –  Sam Braswell (AU) over Corey Smith (SAU) (MD 18-7)
#133 – Dallis Simmons (SAU) over Easton Halliday (AU) (Dec 4-3)
#141 – Brandon Woody (AU) over Aidan McDonald (SAU) (TF 19-0 2:46)
#149 –  Caleb Harmon (AU) over William Adame (SAU) (MD 15-1)
#157 – Jacob Arnold (SAU) over Logan Howell (AU) (MD 14-3)
#165 – Jared Lough (AU) over Chase Payne (SAU) (MD 12-3)
#174 – Josh Linkous (AU) over Jonathan Zafra (SAU) (TF 17-1 6:35)
#184 – Demontay Wimbush (AU) over Robert Brown (SAU) (TF 19-3 5:23)
#197 – Michael Nelson (SAU) over Chris Mohr (AU) (MD 15-3)
#285 – Aaron Vaughan (SAU) over Hagan Smith (AU) (Fall 5:10)