Junior Josh Patterson’s 16-0 technical fall victory at 197 pounds sealed the Alumni Day victory for the Binghamton University men’s wrestling team (13-14). Binghamton head coach Pat Popolizio called the 23-12 victory over Buffalo (9-11) the “biggest win in [his] three years.”

“It was a team effort,” Popolizio said. “The guys wrestled very well.”

The match started off slow for the Bearcats, who lost their first two bouts. At 125 pounds, Bulls junior Dan Bishop defeated sophomore Tyler Malmberg, 11-8.

Bulls sophomore Kevin Smith followed the win with a victory of his own, beating junior Mike Kleeman 3-1 at 133 pounds, giving Buffalo a 6-0 lead.

Binghamton sophomore Anwar Goeres tied the match at 6-6 with his second-period pin of junior Andrew Stella in the 141-pound weight class. The fall came at 4:04 and was Goeres’ seventh pin of the season.

At 149 pounds, Binghamton freshman Matt Kaylor wrestled what Popolizio called “a very good match,” despite being on the wrong end of a 9-8 decision. With Kaylor leading 8-7, Buffalo freshman Desmond Green, ranked 18th in the nation by USA Today/InterMat, secured a takedown with one second left to earn the victory for the Bulls.

Bearcats freshman Justin Lister tied the match at 9-9, using a third period escape and takedown to earn a 4-0 victory over freshman John-Martin Cannon at 157 pounds.

Senior Nate Patterson, wrestling in his final home match for the Bearcats, earned his 47th career dual-meet win. Nate Patterson used a first-period takedown and an advantage in riding time of over four minutes to decision freshman Ron Majerus, 4-2.

The win, at 165 pounds, put Nate Patterson at third in dual-meet wins in school history and gave the Bearcats their first lead in the match.

Trailing 1-0 entering the third period, Bulls senior Nate Rock used an escape and two takedowns to win the 174-pound bout against junior Anthony Esposito, 6-2. The win tied the match at 12-12.

At 184 pounds, Buffalo was waiting for the Bearcats to announce who would wrestle. After a short delay the referee informed the Bulls they had to put a wrestler on the mat first. Buffalo threw sophomore Jason Brown and the Bearcats countered with junior Ryan McGarity, a 165-pounder wrestling two weight classes up.

McGarity’s first-period takedown gave him an early 2-0 lead. With his lead now cut in half following a Brown escape in the second period, McGarity chose neutral and secured a takedown to extend his lead to 4-1. He would add another point for a riding time advantage of over three minutes, giving him a 5-1 victory.

“The team needed me to step up,” McGarity said.

The win gave the Bearcats a 15-12 lead and some “late momentum,” according to Popolizio.

Josh Patterson, ranked sixth in the nation by USA Today/InterMat, used a takedown and two near falls to take a 6-0 first-period lead over Bulls sophomore Jimmy Hamel. Patterson turned Hamel three more times in the second period.

The win put the Bearcats up 20-12 and secured the victory. Josh Patterson has “put the program on the map,” Popolizio said, and “he knows how to win.”

The win gives Josh Patterson a 38-4 record on the season and a 24-2 record in dual meets.

With the heavyweight match tied 2-2 entering the third period, Binghamton junior Corey Waite escaped to win the bout, 3-2, over freshman Brett Correll. The win gave the Bearcats a victory in five of the last six matches.

Popolizio was happy with his team’s overall effort, saying the team “stepped up and competed great.”

The win ended a streak of seven consecutive wins by Buffalo over the Bearcats.

“It has been a long time since we beat Buffalo,” Popolizio said.

Binghamton’s last win over Buffalo was in 1979. The victory gives the Bearcats a final record of 13-14, with eight of their losses coming against teams ranked in the top 25 in the USA Today/Intermat rankings.

The Bearcats are next in action at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships from March 6 to 7 in Virginia Beach, Va.