JONESBORO, Ark. _ A crazy, hectic final two minutes of the game ended with the Arkansas State Red Wolves squeaking out a 34-31 victory over the University of Central Arkansas Bears in a nearly four-hour game on a muggy Saturday night at Centennial Bank Stadium.

The Bears, ranked No. 11 in the FCS, trailed the FBS Red Wolves 27-10 early in the fourth quarter but then outscored ASU 21-7 over the final 13:38. The Bears got an 81-yard touchdown run from senior ShunDerrick Powell to close the gap to 27-17. Powell, from nearby Hoxie, Ark., finished with 176 rushing yards and two touchdowns, with 50 more receiving yards.

UCA followed that with a six-play, 83-yard drive, capped by a 23-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Will McElvain to junior receiver Tyion Berry at the 10:39 mark, getting the Bears within 27-24. A huge defensive play then allowed the Bears to take their first lead of the night. Senior All-American defensive end David Walker got a strip sack of ASU quarterback Jaylen Raynor and UCA's Javeon Jones recovered at the ASU 35 with 1:45 to play.

After a two-yard gain by Powell, UCA came out of a time out with a 29-yard Powell halfback pass to redshirt freshman Malachi Henry, down to the ASU 4. Senior running back Darius Hale went in for the score on the next play to put UCA up 31-27. The Red Wolves then drove 70 yards in seven plays, aided by a pass interference call on UCA. On first-and-goal at the 7, Raynor hit receiver Corey Rucker in the left corner of the end zone. Originally ruled out of bounds, a lengthy review resulted in a go-ahead touchdown (34-31) for ASU with 7 seconds on the clock.

"Obviously you leave Jonesboro with a sour taste in your mouth," said UCA head coach Nathan Brown. "And that's unfortunate. We came to win the and I thought we had every opportunity in the second half to put enough plays together to win the game. 

"But the last thing I told them was I was so dang proud of what they accomplished. And it's unfortunate that it ended on a defensive play because they had a hell of a night. It's a tough one to swallow. But there is a lot to build on. We're excited."
 

Walker, a multi-All-American from Stuttgart, finished with 2.5 sacks for minus 19 yards along with the forced fumble. Junior linebacker Jace Benesch from Hoxie, Ark., led all tacklers with 14 tackles, while senior linebacker Dude Person had 13 and transfer senior linebacker Daylon Land added 10 tackles and his first interception.

"Big-time guys have to make big-time plays," Brown said of Walker. "That's what David does. He's a high NFL draft pick and he played like it tonight. And he nad a big-time play at a big-time moment. And it was even bigger because we went and executed a touchdown after it. Three plays and touchdown."

The Bears, who had just 88 yards of offense in the first half, ended with 432, totaling 344 yards and 15 fist downs in the second half. UCA scored on five of its eight true possessions in the second half, not including the final two seconds of the game. McElvain finished 15 of 28 for 168 yards passing, with Henry catching a career-high four passes. Counting his 29-yard pass, Powell accounted for 255 yards of offense.

"You can see what we can be on offense," Brown said of the Bears' second-half effort. "We're pretty explosive. They had us on our heels the first half. I told our team, that's the most talented team we'll play all year. I don't know about the best team, but they're the most talented, long, athletic team we'll play all year.

"So there's a lot (of good) to pull out of this. Super proud of our guys and the way we came out in the second half and competed. Just fought through adversity. And we had them on their heels in the second half. I thought some guys really grew up tonight. And what a performance by our defense, they played their butts off and gave us a chance in that game."

The Bears will be on the road again next week, facing the Lindenwood Lions in St. Charles, Mo. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.