UNIVERSITY PARK - After learning that Lehigh had defeated Penn State on Friday night, Bloomsburg wrestling coach John Stutzman clearly thought his Huskies could do the same Sunday at Rec Hall.

However, Stutzman wasn't counting on losing the three bouts he deemed critical for a Bloomsburg win.

Instead, No. 15 Penn State (1-1) won the three key bouts from 149 to 165 pounds, and three others to post a 23-15 win over Bloomsburg (2-1) in front of 4,063 fans.

"You know what, there's no such thing as moral victories," Stutzman said. "We were in position to beat the 15th-ranked team in the country and we didn't do it and that's disappointing."

The win was the first of the Cael Sanderson era for the Nittany Lions, not that the first-year head coach seemed overly impressed.

"It's not too significant," Sanderson said. "I'm just looking for these guys to really wrestle well. My goal is just to try to get the best out of these guys, get the most out of them. That's what I'm looking for. I know if we can do that the wins will come. We need to get everything moving in the right direction and really build that foundation."

The Nittany Lions appeared to be making the progress Sanderson seeks. Penn State rallied from two deficits, the second on sealing the win.

After Bloomsburg earned a decision at 184 pounds, the Huskies led, 15-14, with two tossup bouts to go. The Nittany Lions won them both.

At 197, Clay Steadman scored a takedown with 30 seconds left in the match to earn a 3-1 decision and put Penn State back in front, 17-15.

"It feels really good," a smiling Steadman said. "The pressure was really high going in. I could obviously see the score."

That set up a heavyweight bout between Penn State's 20th-ranked Cameron Wade and Bloomsburg's Zac Walsh. Leading 2-1 in the second period, Wade turned Walsh with a half-nelson and pinned him to clinch the team win.

"It feels good to go out there and get that win. I just had to go out there and keep wrestling my style," Wade said. "Obviously, there was a little more nerves. I had to contain that as best I could.

"I just put a boot in and had a power half. I turned him one way and he ended up bellying out. He left his arm kind of open and I snuck another half in and was able to turn him over and hold him there long enough to get a pin."

Two of Penn State's other ranked wrestlers won battles with ranked wrestlers the first time the Lions retook the lead.

Fifth-ranked 157-pounder Cyler Sanderson scored a takedown with 59 seconds left in the match to edge No. 2 Matt Moley, 3-2. It was the third time in four career matchups with Moley that Sanderson won the bout.

"It was a great crowd and a great atmosphere and I just needed to get a good match under my belt," Cyler Sanderson said. "I wrestled a great opponent. He's a real tough kid. He's really strong and fast and it felt good to get the win."

Then, at 165, Dan Vallimont made a second-period reversal stand up for a 2-1 win over Rick Schmelyun.

Penn State's other two wins came from No. 8 Brad Pataky (a 22-7 technical fall in 7 minutes at 125), and Frank Molinaro (a 12-3 major decision at 149).

No. 15 Penn State 23, Bloomsburg 15

(Sunday at University Park)

125: No. 8 Brad Pataky, PSU, tech. fall over Jason Guffey, 22-7*. 133: Danny Gaylord, BLM, pinned Bryan Pearsall, 5:28. 141: Frank Hickman, BLM, dec. Colby Pisani, 19-12. 149: Frank Molinaro, PSU, maj. dec. Josh Roosa, 12-3. 157: No. 5 Cyler Sanderson, PSU, dec. No. 2 Matt Moley, 3-2. 165: No. 9 Dan Vallimont, PSU, dec. No. 19 Rick Schmelyun, 2-1. 174: Nate Graham, BLM, dec. Nick Fischer, 11-5. 184: Derek Coffey, BLM, dec. Justin Ortega, 4-0. 197: Clay Steadman, PSU, dec. Jacob Dabashinsky, 3-1. Hwt: No. 20 Cameron Wade, PSU, pinned Zac Walsh, 4:42.

*Penn State awarded just four team points because no near-fall points were scored

Referee: Gary Kessel. Attendance: 4,063. Ridge Riley Award winner: Cyler Sanderson, 157 pounds. Takedowns: Bloomsburg 11; Penn State 19.

Records: Bloomsburg 2-1; Penn State 1-1. Next match: Penn State at Sprawl and Brawl Duals on Sunday at Binghamton, N.Y. 9:45 a.m. vs. Rutgers, 11:30 a.m. vs. Harvard, 3 p.m. vs. Edinboro.