Dramatic wins by Kerry McCoy have come to be expected.

In three of their last four dual meets the Lions have fallen behind and needed wins by McCoy, their undefeated heavyweight, and each time McCoy has met the challenge. The most recent win came on Friday night when he scored a technical fall over Lock Haven's Joe Eaton to give the Lions a 19-18 win.

Wins by the nation's No. 1 heavyweight also clinched matches against North Carolina and Lehigh last weekend.

"I knew that if I could push him for two periods, in the third period I could score the points I needed," McCoy said. "I just went out there and tried to stay in my game and try to break him."

The No. 4 Lions upped their record to 13-5 with the hard-fought win over Lock Haven and an easier than expected 31-15 win over No. 14 Oklahoma, in which the Lions didn't need any last-minute heroics. The Sooners, who dressed only seven wrestlers, handed the Lions 18 points by forfeiting the 142-, 150-and the 158-pound weight classes.

"It's discouraging but not disheartening," Oklahoma Coach Jack Spates said. "We know we'll be back and be better really fast. The guys that we have are giving us a good effort so we're real optimistic."

The Lions were able to win only three of the seven bouts that were wrestled. They got their usual performances from Cary Kolat, Sanshiro Abe and McCoy, who all came away victorious.

Two other Lions came close to scoring upsets. Freshman Mike Brennan gave veteran Rico Jourdan a scare in the 118-pound match, and Brian Matusic nearly beat No. 7 Jason Leonard at 167 pounds.

"I was surprised I got that big of a lead on him," Matusic said. "I tried to ride on the lead and he got his confidence back. He's been around long enough to know how to come back."

Coach John Fritz was pleased with the performance he got from Matusic, who started the season as No. 4 on the Lions' depth chart at 167 pounds.

"Matusic was right there with Leonard," Fritz said. "I hope he sees how close he is. If he makes some adjustments and keeps a good attitude, he's going to be knocking these guys off come tournament time."

Up next for the Lions is Minnesota, which has shocked the wrestling world by climbing to No. 1 in the rankings. The Gophers will be one of three dual meets the Lions will wrestle starting at 5 p.m. Sunday in Rec Hall. West Virginia and Pittsburgh will also be on the slate.