Gardner-Webb edges Bellarmine 19-18 in Louisville
A late bonus-point decision at 285 sealed a one-point Southern Conference dual for the Runnin’ Bulldogs.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Gardner‑Webb beat Bellarmine 19-18 on Feb. 8, 2026, a Southern Conference dual decided by bonus-point outcomes and a final‑bout decision.
The visitors built an early lead when Tyson Lane opened at 125 with a 5-1 decision, aided by an opening 3-point takedown and a riding-time point. Gardner‑Webb extended the advantage at 133 when No. 15 T.K. Davis opened with a three-point takedown and finished by fall, the pin supplying a vital bonus swing for the Runnin’ Bulldogs.
Gardner‑Webb padded its bonus total at 141 when Dominic Ditullio defeated No. 32 AJ Rallo 7-5 after a first-period takedown and a two-point nearfall gave Ditullio a 5-0 cushion. That run left Gardner‑Webb ahead 16-3 through the lower weights.
Bellarmine countered in the middle weights. Nate Higley closed the 149 bout by technical fall, 19-3, which produced five team points and cut the margin. Joseph Giordano’s 12-3 major decision at 157 returned four bonus points to Gardner‑Webb, while Bellarmine’s Grant O’Dell answered with an 11-3 major at 174 that added four points for the hosts.
The swing of bonus scoring was decisive. Davis’s pin and Giordano’s major together produced ten bonus points for Gardner‑Webb; Higley’s technical fall and O’Dell’s major supplied nine bonus points for Bellarmine and helped erase the visitors’ early cushion.
Bellarmine closed the gap further with decisions at 165, 184 and 197, including an 8-7 win for Andrew Liber at 197 that featured a second-period takedown and four-point nearfall for Liber and a late escape by Liber to preserve the one-point margin in that bout.
With the dual tied or within a point in the final phases, Gardner‑Webb’s Josh McCutchen delivered the deciding result at 285. McCutchen opened with a first-period three-point takedown, added a third-period takedown and escape and collected a riding-time point to finish an 8-2 decision that clinched the dual for the visitors.
The meet highlighted how bonus outcomes shaped the result: an early flurry of bonus scoring for Gardner‑Webb, a Bellarmine rally through the middle weights that relied on a technical fall and a major, and a final heavyweight decision that swung the team score back to Gardner‑Webb.
Gardner‑Webb improved with the win; Bellarmine dropped a one‑point home dual despite collecting multiple bonus results in the middle weights. The match was contested at Knights Hall in Louisville as part of Southern Conference competition.