The wrestling team had -- and there's never been a truer use of the phrase -- its back against the wall. With two matches remaining, they were down 17-13 to the No. 1 team in the country Sunday. Senior Troy Minnich had to win to keep the Lions' upset hopes alive. And on paper, the chances of Minnich (2-8) downing Darren Andy (19-10) of Minnesota were dim at best.

But matches are never wrestled on paper, and the stats do not even begin to tell the whole story. There were a few things on Minnich's side that no statistic could possibly reflect -- the emotion he brought to the mat for his last appearance at Rec Hall, the silent prayers of his parents in the crowd, and most of all, the size of Troy Minnich's heart.

"I was just doing a little praying -- just doing a little praying," his father, Jim Minnich said. "He's had a tough year, but he stuck it out. He's no quitter."

And when he stepped out onto the mat and stared down his adversary, his focus became clear. The pressure, the fact that he was wrestling up one weight class at 190, the odds that were stacked against him -- all were washed away, and the essence of conflict between two men took over.

"Once the match starts, you just gotta concentrate on wrestling your kind of match," he said. "If you start thinking, 'I have to win, I have to win,' things might not go the way you want them to."

Minnich, in fact, did wrestle his kind of match, scoring a takedown early in the first period. Andy quickly escaped, and Minnich had taken a 2-1 lead. He built the lead to 3-1, but the victory was never assured, especially for a few anxious moments at the end of period two.

Andy dumped Minnich to the mat for an apparent takedown as time expired. But following a conference, referees Joe Geesey and Fred Richardson ruled that the takedown occured after the period had ended.

"I thought I heard the buzzer go, and I kind of relaxed," Minnich. said.

He had dodged the only bullet that Andy would fire at him, and after a tense, scoreless final period, Minnich had won the most dramatic match of his career.

Minnich stood, fists clenched high above his head, in his final and most emotional moment of glory. Just then, a figure bolted from the stands and hugged Minnich. It was his biggest fan, his father. The two then hurried off to the locker room.

"It meant a lot to him," the elder Minnich said.