SWEET HOME – Tyler Cowger was victorious in his homecoming, but fifth-ranked Montana State-Northern spoiled it by defeating No. 7 Southern Oregon in four of the last five matches for a 23-13 West Group win Thursday night at Sweet Home High.

The Raiders fell to 2-4 in duals. They later dropped an exhibition to Clackamas Community College, the sixth-ranked and 12-0 junior college powerhouse, by a score of 33-6.

Cowger, who won 192 times at Sweet Home High and is the No. 2 149-pounder in the NAIA, ran his record to 14-0 and his dual winning streak to 19 in front of the home fans. He took a 6-1 decision against 16th-ranked Drake Randall and moved into a tie for sixth on SOU's career wins list with his 95th.

His effort followed Caleb Dix's 7-2 win over Dylan Lockwood at 133 pounds, and it preceded third-ranked Hunter Hodges' 12-5 handling of Tommy Cooper at 157. The Hodges win, which made him 15-1 this year, had the Raiders up 9-7. At 165, SOU's Aaron DeMay in his first action of the season nearly upset No. 10 Andrew Bartel but was held off, 1-0, and the Lights took over from there.

Andrew Orr, making his Raider debut at 174, was edged by Steeler French, 4-3. Then MSU-Northern's Ben Stroh, the top-ranked wrestler at 184 in the NAIA, pinned Max Hane to make it 19-9. Seventh-ranked Tanner Fischer (197) kept the Raiders alive with bonus points in a 10-0 win against Dace Fisher, but Lights heavyweight Taylor Kornoely – ranked second – scored a 12-3 major decision over Alejandro Sandoval to finish the job.

The Lights defeated SOU for the second year in a row. Their record stands at 7-2.

In the exhibitions, SOU got its wins from Hane, who topped Andrew Tausch 4-2 at 184, and Fischer – who banked an impressive 4-2 victory against Haszell West, the fifth-ranked 197-pounder in the National Junior College Athletic Association. Though it won't count against his record, Cowger was defeated by second-ranked Josh Reyes in a 3-2 battle.

The Raiders are back in action Sunday, bringing 15 individuals to the Reno Tournament of Champions. Their next duals will be at the NWCA-NAIA National Duals, Jan. 5-6 in Fort Wayne, Ind.

MONTANA STATE-NORTHERN 23, SOUTHERN OREGON 13
125 – Robert Pair, MSUN, major dec. Ian Rogers, 4-0. (0-4)
133 – Caleb Dix, SOU, dec. Dylan Lockwood, 7-2. (3-4)
141 – Matt Weber, MSUN, dec. Devin Poppen, 10-9. (3-7)
149 – Tyler Cowger, SOU, dec. Drake Randall, 6-1. (6-7)
157 – Hunter Hodges, SOU, dec. Tommy Cooper, 12-5. (9-7)
165 – Andrew Bartel, MSUN, dec. Aaron DeMay, 1-0. (9-10)
174 – Steeler French, MSUN, dec. Andrew Orr, 4-3. (9-13)
184 – Ben Stroh, MSUN, p. Max Hane. (9-19)
197 – Tanner Fischer, SOU, major dec. Dace Fisher, 10-0. (13-19)
285 – Taylor Kornoely, MSUN, major dec. Alejandro Sandoval, 12-3. (13-23)

CLACKAMAS C.C. 33, SOUTHERN OREGON 6 (exhibition)
125 – David Campbell, CCC, p. Ian Rogers, 1:00. (0-6)
133 – Nathan Johnson, CCC, tech. fall Caleb Dix, 18-3 (5:56). (0-11)
141 – Kurt Mode, CCC, dec. Devin Poppen, 9-7. (0-14)
149 – Josh Reyes, CCC, dec. Tyler Cowger, 3-2. (0-17)
157 – John Leal, CCC, major dec. Hunter Hodges, 9-0. (0-21)
165 – Dillon Ulrey, CCC, p. Aaron DeMay, 3:47. (0-27)
174 – Colt Doyle, CCC, dec. Andrew Orr, 6-3. (0-30)
184 -  Max Hane, SOU dec. Andrew Tausch, 4-2. (3-30)
197 – Tanner Fischer, SOU, dec. Haszell West, 4-2. (6-30)
285 – Josh Alvarez, CCC, dec. Alejandro Sandoval, 5-2. (6-33)