DeKALB – The scoreboard read 27-27 at the end of the DeKalb wrestling team’s meet with Yorkville on Thursday, but there might as well have been a chasm separating the two teams for coach Mike Pater.

The Barbs lost by the tie-breaker of matches won, eliminating their chances of winning the Northern Illinois Big 12 regular season title.

“It’s tough, it’s a heart-breaker,” Pater said. “We can’t win a conference title anymore. A lot of these guys had goals of being conference champs this year, and we’re not going to be able to do it now.”