HAMMOND, La. _  The quick-strike offense of No. 8 Southeastern Louisiana scored twice in a span of three minutes in the fourth quarter as the Lions pulled away to a 41-24 Homecoming victory over the University of Central Arkansas Bears on Saturday night at Strawberry Stadium.

    With the victory, the Lions (6-2, 4-0) took over sole possession of first place in the Southland Conference. UCA, which had won three consecutive games, dropped to 4-4 overall and 3-1 in league play.

    The Bears grabbed the momentum with a blocked punt from redshirt freshman George Odum _ their second of the night _ with 6:11 to play, with senior Willie Matthews scooping the loose ball and scoring from 15 yards out to close the UCA deficit to just 27-24. But the Lions, the defending SLC champions, got a 75-yard touchdown burst by senior quarterback Bryan Bennett at the 5:59 mark, and junior Xavier Roberson broke off a 30-yard touchdown run with 3:03 remaining to set the final. SLU won its 14th straight game against conference teams.

    "Our defense kept us in the game for a long time tonight,' said UCA head coach Steve Campbell. "But they got a couple of big plays on us there at the end when we had the momentum after the blocked punt. They have a very talented team. Their quarterback and their running back are very good, they are All-Americans for a reason.'

    "We just made too many mistakes down the stretch against a very good team. We played well for the most part but not well enough to beat a team like that.'

    Bennett, who transferred from Oregon last season, rushed for 130 yards and a season-high three touchdowns and threw for 170 more yards. SLU outgained UCA 459 to 370 in total yards after the teams were even at 235 yards each at halftime. Matthews had two touchdowns, on the blocked punt and an 18-yard run from scrimmage to open the scoring. Junior quarterback Taylor Reed added a 1-yard touchdown run and senior Eddie Camara had a 23-yard field goal to round out UCA's scoring.

    The Bears struck first on their opening drive of the game, driving 96 yards in eight plays, capped by Matthews' 18-yard touchdown run. Camara's point after made it a 7-0 lead with 12:31 left in the first quarter. The Lions answered even quicker, going 76 yards in just two plays, with Bennett dashing the final 28 yards for the tying touchdown.
    
    Camara pushed UCA back in front with a 23-yard field goal at the 4:35 mark of the first period, but Roberson countered with a 1-yard run to put the Lions in front 14-10 in the final minute of the quarter. UCA's defense stiffened in the second quarter and forced a pair of turnovers, but the Bears could not score off either of them. The Lions then turned in a late 62-yard drive and got a 19-yard field goal from Ryan Adams with three seconds left to take a 17-10 halftime lead. 

    The Lions, playing in front of their largest home crowd since 2005 (8,766), got a 43-yard field goal midway through the third quarter before the Bears closed to within 20-17 on Reed's 1-yard run with 2:55 left in the period, aided by a 42-yard pass from Reed to Courtney Whitehead. On the prior possession, junior punter Matt Spencer made the most of his first punt of the night, nailing a 79-yarder for a touchback. UCA came back and drove 62 yards in six plays for Reed's touchdown.
     
    Bennett recorded his second rushing TD of the night on SLU's next possesion, stretching the Lions' lead to 27-17 with 13:22 remaining. UCA put together a solid drive, going deep into SLU territory before Reed was picked off by Denzel Thompson at the 10. UCA dodged that bullet, forcing a three-and-out and taking over in SLU territory at the SLU 48 with 9:49 to play.
    
    Odum then blocked Tim Callian's punt and Matthews scooped it up at the 15 and went in for the touchdown, cutting UCA's deficit to 27-24 with 6:11 to play. But the Lions' quick-strike offense scored twice more in the final six minutes to pull away.

    Howard finished 16 of 25 for 171 yards and an interception on the last play of the game for UCA. Matthews gained 58 yards on 11 carries. Dezmin Lewis caught a team-high six passes for 78 yards but the Bears had no touchdowns among their 23 receptions for the first time this season.

    UCA returns home next Saturday to host Northwestern State (4-3, 2-1), a 31-27 winner over Sam Houston State on Saturday. The Homecoming kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.