DEKALB, Ill. – SIUE and Northern Illinois competed match for match Friday, and SIUE walked away with a trophy at the end of the night.

The Cougars were declared 16-15 winners based on tiebreaker criteria. While both teams won five individual matches and all 10 matches were decided by six points or less, the final criteria was based on the number of total individual match points scored. SIUE edged NIU 42-40 overall.

With the win, SIUE captured the Mid-American Conference West Division title. SIUE finished the regular season with an 11-2 record and a 5-1 record in the MAC. Northern Illinois dropped to 9-7 and 4-2 in the MAC.

SIUE captured wins by Ben Lunn at 141 pounds, Hayden Whidden at 157 pounds, Brock Woodcock at 165 pounds, Deron Pulliam at 184 pounds and Nick Nosler at 197 pounds.

The Cougars next head to the MAC Championships in Buffalo, N.Y. The Championships run March 6-7.

SIUE 16 Northern Illinois 15
125: No. 20 Blake West (NIU) over Drew Davis (SIUE), W, Dec 2-0
133: No. 16 Markel Baker (NIU) vs No. 20 Marcel Lopez (SIUE), W, Dec 4-2
141: Ben Lunn (SIUE) over Deuce Curtis (NIU), W, Dec 9-6
149: Collin Arch (NIU) over Donavon Allen (SIUE), W, Dec 7-3
157: Hayden Whidden (SIUE) over Landen Johnson(NIU), W, Dec 3-1
165: No. 28 Brock Woodcock (SIUE) over Brett Smith (NIU), W, Dec 5-3
174: Tommy Bennett (NIU) over Dominic Lopez (SIUE), W, SV-1, 4-1
184: Deron Pulliam (SIUE) over Ian Smith (NIU), Dec 10-4
197: Nick Nosler (SIUE) over Dominic Heim (NIU), Dec 2-0
285: No. 20 Devon Dawson (NIU) over Bryson Buhk (SIUE), W, Dec 9-7
SIUE wins via tiebreaker (c) 42-40