EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE wrestling closed out the regular season Saturday evening with a 19-12 loss to Mid-American Conference rival Northern Illinois.

SIUE dropped to 7-8 for the season and 4-3 in MAC matches. The Huskies improved to 7-3 overall and 6-1 in the MAC.

The Cougars now turn their focus to the postseason for the MAC Championships in Trenton, New Jersey. The two-day tournament is set for March 7-8.

Northern Illinois grabbed the early lead and held on with victories in the first four matches.

Eric Almarinez collected SIUE's first win at 157 pounds, a 10-5 decision over NIU's Landen Johnson. Almarinez used a seven-point move with a takedown and a four-near fall to take control of the match.

The Cougars later won the final three matches led by Deron Pulliam's 9-5 win at 184 pounds over Damarion Ross. Nick Nosler bested NIU's Sean Carroll. Bryson Buhk closed out the match with a decisive takedown in the sudden victory period, winning 4-1 at heavyweight over Jacob Christensen.

Northern Illinois 19 SIUE 12
125 Blake West (NIU) over Drew Davis (SIUE) (Dec 3-0)
133 Markel Baker (NIU) over Marcel Lopez (SIUE) (Dec 3-2)
141 Jacob Brya (NIU) over Porter Matecki (SIUE) (MD 14-0)
149 Collin Arch (NIU) over Alec Peralta (SIUE) (Dec 5-0)
157 Eric Almarinez (SIUE) over Landen Johnson (NIU) (Dec 10-5)
165 Brett Smith (NIU) over Bradley Gillum (SIUE) (SV-1 4-1) 
174 Tommy Bennett (NIU) over Luke Odom (SIUE) (Dec 8-5)
184 Deron Pulliam (SIUE) over Damarion Ross (NIU) (Dec 9-3)
197 Nick Nosler (SIUE) over Sean Carroll (NIU) (Dec 4-1)
285 Bryson Buhk (SIUE) over Jacob Christensen (NIU) (SV-1 4-1)