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The Broncs gave heavily-favored Rutgers all it could handle in an all-Jersey dual.

The Rider University wrestling team was a sudden-victory match at 133 pounds away from making No. 16 Rutgers sweat a little bit in cozy Alumni Gymnasium on Saturday night.

The Broncs were a sudden victory match at 133 and being able to hold a third-period lead at 174 pounds from a stunning upset.

Dylan Shawver’s 4-1 overtime win over Will Betancourt at 133 pounds was the only Rutgers win in the first four weights as it trailed 9-3 after 149 pounds.

Ryan Ford, a redshirt freshman from Bergen Catholic, rallied from a 4-1 third-period deficit against NCAA qualifier Enrique Munguia for a 6-4 win that helped Rutgers hold off the Broncs, 21-12, in an entertaining dual in front of a packed house at Rider.

Ford has been competing with Andrew Barbosa for the starting spot at 165 pounds all season. But with the Scarlet Knights wanting to give struggling 174-pounder Lenny Pinto a re-set, Ford moved up a weight for the last three matches.

“We got winners, Dylan Shawver’s a winner, he’s been here six years,” said Rutgers coach Scott Goodale. “He’s got an incredible hit list, he’s beaten everybody. He’s wrestling tight right now, and that’s the way all of his matches are right now.

“Ryan Ford, freshman, big spot, great athlete. Ford’s big enough to go up to 74 and keep his descent. He’s been huge.”

Ford’s back-breaking win put Rutgers ahead 13-9, and it could see its way to the finish line from there.

“I was just listening to the coaches, continuing to wrestle,” said Ford. “Third-period, two minutes left. Down 4-1 isn’t where you want to be, but you have to keep going. I kept pushing, felt him get a little tired, opened him up a little bit, found that double and got some backs out of it and finished the match on top. Just continuing to wrestle.

“I’m wrestling NCAA qualifiers, blood rounders in the room, they get me ready for matches like that. (Wrestling at 174) is definitely different, some guys are bigger. But it’s not much different. If I focus on the way I wrestle, it will take care of itself.”

Ford also won up a weight against Illinois and Maryland, picking up bonus in both the Big Ten duals. The freshman’s efforts are making the lineup decision difficult on Goodale.

“He might have a spot, we got Barbosa, we got Ford, we wanted to give Pinto a rest but we like our three guys there,” said Goodale. “We’ll figure it out.”

Rutgers is 10-5, while Rider fell to 9-5.

Big wins for the Broncs

Rider sophomore Brock Zurawski, ranked No. 20/21, picked up arguably the biggest win of his season when he beat No. 17/No. 13 Remy Cotton, 14-7, at 197.

Zurawski almost had a turn in the final seconds that would have pushed the score to a major decision. It was the seventh straight win for the surging sophomore.

“It was a good win for me, I go into every match treating it the same, so it was another match in the books but definitely a good win mentally,” said Zurawski. “I’ve been training for these kinds of matches all year. That was my first time wrestling Rutgers, so to have them in our gym felt good.”

The Broncs also picked up a big win at 149 when Dylan Layton defeated ranked Andy Clark, 6-3.

Rider needed a pin on the final weight to secure the upset but Rutgers’ Hunter Catka defeated Hogan Swenski, 8-5.

So close ....

Rider coach John Hangey saw the path to victory. He was a little disappointed the Broncs couldn’t make it happen.

“We had them where we needed to beat them,” said Hangey. “Will needs to finish that shot (at the end of the third period), and Enrique can’t lose that match.

“We thought we could win 33 because Shawver hasn’t been wrestling great. We knew we could win 25, thought we’d win 41 and 49 was a toss-up. We needed to win 97 and one other. We thought we had chances. I’m tired of being close. We had a chance to win this match, and we let it go.”

Big Friday

Both teams have huge matches coming up next week. Rutgers will host No. 9 Minnesota at Jersey Mike’s Arena, trying once again to overtake one of the Big Ten’s premier programs.

The Scarlet Knights have never beaten Minnesota, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan or Iowa.

Rider has its own big conference home match when it hosts Lock Haven. A win will go a long way towards either team winning the Mid-American Conference East Division. Rider is 4-0 in the conference, and Lock Haven is 2-0.