For the second time in less than a week, Penn State faced a top-five opponent.

For the second time, the outcome depended on junior Pat Cummins' heavyweight matchup with a top-15 opponent.

Unlike last week, Cummins came out on top this time. His win tied the match between No. 13 Penn State and No. 4 Ohio State at a score of 18-18. A new rule change this year turned the tie into a loss for the Nittany Lions because the Buckeyes won six of the 10 matches.

Cummins, who lost to No. 11 Garrett Lowney of Minnesota last Friday, won his second straight Ridge Riley Award for his upset of No. 2 Tommy Rowlands.

With the Lions trailing 18-15, Cummins dominated his way to a 10-4 victory.

The match started off slowly with Rowlands, a two-time All-American, owning a 2-1 lead after the first period. Then Cummins took control with his strength.

With just 40 seconds left in the second period, Cummins muscled his way into a takedown and a 4-2 lead. He carried the momentum from that move into the third period, where another big takedown would be the turning point in the match.

"I turned in, hipped down hard and he was still holding on to the leg so I figured, 'What the heck, I'll go for it,'" Cummins said.

Cummins lifted Rowlands off the mat and brought him down hard on his side about halfway through the period. So hard, in fact, that Rowlands had to take a lengthy injury timeout. During the timeout, the crowd of 1,270 really jumped to its feet, with chants of, "Let's go Pat," filling the air in Rec Hall.

That was all the inspiration Cummins would need. He scored another takedown with a minute to go in the match, adding to that some near fall points to set the final score. This was sweet success for Cummins, who has a long history battling Rowlands.

"It's been a long time coming for that one," Cummins said. "I think that was our fifth match and up until then I hadn't gotten him."

The Nittany Lions (10-5, 3-2 Big Ten) exploded onto the mat, jumping all over the Buckeyes (10-4, 2-1) early.

Starting off the match at 125 pounds, sophomore Adam Smith got his second pin at Penn State when he took down Nathan Costello in 2:49. The win made Smith the ninth Nittany Lion with at least 20 wins this season.

"The coaches have been saying that we need bonus points," Smith said. "I knew my match was going to be one of the big ones to get bonus points. So, I just had to pull my part."

Junior Josh Moore wasted no time in matching that performance. He pinned Rob Rosenfeld just 21 seconds into the 133-pound match. The fall gives Moore 12 on the season, good enough for second on the team.

Penn State would then suffer through five close losses, the Buckeyes' six wins were by a total of only 16 points, to see its 12-0 lead become a 15-12 deficit.

The last of the four winners for Penn State was senior Mark Becks. Ranked No. 5 at 184 pounds, Becks posted a shutout of Casey Kapustka in a 6-0 decision. Becks has now won 13 matches in a row and owns a 14-0 record in dual match competition this season.

Penn State fell to 10-6 all-time against Ohio State, but this loss did not leave a bad taste in the team's mouth.

"Our kids fought hard tonight," Penn State wrestling coach Troy Sunderland said. "I'm proud of them. Each guy stepped up and there were a lot of moral victories, if not the outright win."