The atmosphere at Desert Financial Arena was dead on Friday, Feb. 6, as ASU (3-10) trailed the Oregon State Beavers (6-2) 16-10 with only three matches remaining. Junior Shay Addison trailed No. 30 TJ McDonnel 7-2 in the 184-pound bout, and all hope seemed lost.

However, everything changed when Addison got McDonnell on his back and secured the fall to wake the crowd up from its slumber and bring the Sun Devils back from the dead. ASU went on to win the dual 23-16.

“You live for those moments as a wrestler,” Addison said. “To get a pin like that and have the crowd be fired up was amazing.”

McDonnel got a couple of early takedowns against Addison to seize control, but Addison hung in there and got the big break he needed.

Addison said that he never stops wrestling, no matter the score, and that mindset helped put him in a position to get the match-changing pin.

In the 197-pound battle, graduate student Colton Hawks fed off the momentum to stun No. 4 sophomore Justin Rademacher in an 8-6 overtime decision.

It was just Rademacher’s second loss of the season.

Addison labeled Hawks’ victory the best match he’s seen as a part of the Sun Devils wrestling team.

Freshman Ben Szuba slammed the door on OSU’s hopes with a 10-0 major decision over freshman Khale McDonnell in the heavyweight contest, a match in which Szuba accumulated nearly four minutes of riding time.

Ben’s older brother — graduate student David Szuba — usually starts in the heavyweight class, but head coach Zeke Jones opted to give the younger Szuba a shot.

“The dual meet was on the line, and we felt really confident that Ben could finish it,” head coach Zeke Jones said. “He’s had several competitions leading up to this; he’s had some good results, but he hasn’t been in a heater with everything on the line to win a dual.”

The high-pressure situation didn’t faze Szuba.

“I feel like I’ve trained my mind a lot wrestling the tournaments and opens,” Szuba said, adding that his main objective is always to have fun.

The Sun Devils have struggled in duals all season due in large part to a tough schedule. This was ASU’s third win of the season and its first home win.

The Beavers provided another tough challenge, as they have been ranked inside the top 25 for most of the season.

Before Addison’s pin, senior Cael Valencia notched an upset win against No. 30 sophomore TJ McDonnel in the 184-pound match.

“He just stayed steady,” Jones said. “He’s had a hard time with matches like that, and he was able to finish.”

The Sun Devils won despite resting several key starters, including their two best wrestlers in sophomore Kaleb Larkin and freshman Kyler Larkin.

ASU and OSU have some history going back to their days together in the Pac-12, where they were regularly two of the better programs in the conference.

However, the Sun Devils have had the Beavers’ number recently, as this is the eighth consecutive head-to-head dual win for ASU over OSU.