Pinecrest wrestled its second Southeastern Conference match of the season on Wednesday and eked out a 40-36 victory over visiting Lumberton.

The match started with Lumberton's heavyweight winning by pinfall, but Pinecrest 103-pounder Zac Lupien got the Patriots on the board by pinning Ryan Muclewhite in 2:47.

Thus was the back-and-forth nature of the match. Pinecrest freshman Sawyer Bateman lost a 9-7 decision to Kino Baker at 112 pounds, but junior teammate Michael Lippincott rebound with an 11-3 major decision win over Antonio Baker at 119 pounds to put the Patriots ahead 10-9.

Pinecrest junior Clem McKenzie then pinned Raven Marshall in the third period of the 125-pound match to extend the Patriot lead to 16-9, but Lumberton closed the gap with a pin at 130 pounds.

The Patriots finally gained some breathing room when Lumberton forfeited the next three weight classes to Jonah Caliri (135), Dustin Roemer (140) and Zane Excell (145), which extended the Pinecrest lead to 34-15.

Junior 160-pounder Nathan Frederique added another six points to the Patriot tally with a pin at 160 pounds, and Pinecrest would need every point it could get, as Lumberton won the last three and four of the last five matches to pull within the four-point final margin.

The Patriots are back in action today at 6 p.m. at the Gray's Creek Quad.

They get back into conference duals Wednesday at Scotland.