HAMMOND -Central Arkansas running back Brent Grimes scored from a yard out with 29 seconds remaining to lead the Bears to a 37-33 victory over Southeastern Louisiana in Southland Conference action Saturday night at Strawberry Stadium.

For the second straight week, the Lions (2-5, 1-3 SLC) squandered a fourth quarter advantage. Central Arkansas extended its winning streak to three games and improved to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the Southland Conference.

"Our guys laid it out on the line tonight. They gave it everything they had," Southeastern head coach Mike Lucas commented. "If we got one yard on that final drive, the game's over. We needed to get the first down, but we weren't able to and they (UCA) made the plays at the end."

UCA quarterback Nathan Brown completed 32-of-52 passes for 343 yards and three touchdowns. The Bears had two receivers go for 100 yards plus in Eric Ware (9-118) and Preston Echols (7-104).

"I've seen a lot of quarterbacks in the Southland Conference, but he's probably at the top of the list," Lucas said of Brown. "We, as a coaching staff, worked very late during the week working on our blitz packages. We put a lot of pressure on him and had numerous chances to sack him, but to his credit he was able to escape and make plays."

Southeastern junior running back Jay Lucas rushed 24 times for a career-high 215 yards - tied for the third-highest total in Southeastern history - and two scores. The Lions amassed 294 yards rushing on 40 attempts as a team.

On the final drive, UCA took over after stopping Lucas short on a fourth-and-1 at the Bears 36 with no timeouts and 2:06 left on the clock, trailing 33-30.

"We ran the same play earlier in the game and picked up a first down," Mike Lucas commented. "When we ran it before, we sent Mario (Gilbert) in motion and they (UCA) moved a linebacker out. They didn't do that this time and ganged up in the box."

Brown expertly maneuvered the Bears 64 yards on nine plays in 1:37. On the drive, Brown completed six-of-eight passes for 63 yards, including a 17-yard strike to Darrius McNeal that set up the winning score.

Southeastern took the lead with 4:29 remaining. Lucas broke off a 40-yard run to set up a 25-yard Jeff Turner field goal breaking a 30-30 tie. On the ensuing drive, Southeastern forced UCA to turn the ball over at their own 45, when Southeastern sophomore safety Tommy Connors tackled Logan short of a first down.

Southeastern ran Lucas twice and then Brian Babin hit Brock DeLong for a four-yard pass to set up a fourth-and-one at the UCA 36 with 2:11 left and forcing the Bears to use their final timeout. Southeastern tried to put the game away with one last first down, but UCA stuffed Lucas at the line and took over, setting up the winning score.

Southeastern opened the game with an eight-play, 49-yard drive that resulted in a 40-yard Turner field goal and a 3-0 lead. The two teams traded punts on the next two drives with Southeastern's punter Cody Samples pinning the Bears down at their own seven-yard line.

Brown then led UCA on a methodical 12-play, 93-yard scoring drive that took 6:24 off the clock. Brown found Cedric Logan on a two-yard score to give UCA a 7-3 lead.

Southeastern answered back on the following drive. A 37-yard Lucas rush set Southeastern up with first and goal at the UCA five-yard line. Two plays later on the first play of the second quarter, Lucas powered in from two yards out. A bad snap resulted in a failed point after attempt and a 9-7 Southeastern lead.

Neither team could get anything going on the next several drives, before Southeastern struck again with 5:29 left in the half. Southeastern marched the ball 62 yards on eight plays without throwing a pass. A 25-yard rush by Gilbert set the Lions up with a first and goal at the UCA 2. Lucas powered in on the next play for a 16-7 Southeastern lead. The touchdown was Lucas' 10th of the season, making him the eighth player in school history to score double-digit touchdowns.

UCA struck back right before the halftime break, as Brown found Grimes on a juggling five-yard scoring play to send the Bears into the break within two, 16-14.

Southeastern forced the Bears to punt on their first possession of the third quarter. Freshman Jeremiah Williams broke through the line and blocked James Paul's punt. Freshman running back Johnny Owen scooped it for a score and a 23-14 lead.

After another UCA punt, Southeastern started its next drive on its own 12. On the second play of the drive, UCA's Quad Sanders sacked Babin in the end zone for a safety.

After the safety, the two teams traded punts. On Southeastern's offering, UCA's Tristan Jackson fielded a bouncing punt at his own 14, shook a tackle and rolled 86 yards down the right side to tie the game at 23 with 5:18 left in the third quarter.

Southeastern retook the lead early in the fourth quarter. A pair of Lucas runs covered 26 yards and set Southeastern up at the UCA 25. On the next play, Babin hit a screen to freshman tight end Luis Sobalvarro for a score and a 30-23 Lion lead with 12:11 left in the contest.

UCA answered the call on the next drive. Brown marched the Bears 68 yards on 10 plays. He hit Nick Cowger for a seven-yard scoring pass to tie the score at 30 with 8:24 left and set up the dramatic finish.

Southeastern will be back in action next Saturday, facing SLC foe McNeese State at 7 p.m. in Lake Charles.

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
Central Arkansas.... 7 7 9 14 - 37 Record: (4-3,3-1)
Southeastern La..... 3 13 7 10 - 33 Record: (2-5,1-3)

Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter
11:58 SLU - Turner 40 FG
2:22 UCA - Logan 2 pass from Brown (Paul kick)

2nd Quarter
14:54 SLU - Lucas 2 run (Turner kick failed)
2:12 SLU - Lucas 2 run (Turner kick)
0:14 UCA - Grimes 5 pass from Brown (Paul kick)

3rd Quarter
13:14 SLU - Owen 18 blocked punt return (Turner kick)
11:12 UCA - TEAM safety
5:18 UCA - Jackson 86 punt return (Paul kick)

4th Quarter
12:11 SLU - Sobalvarro 25 pass from Babin (Turner kick)
8:24 UCA - Cowger 7 pass from Brown (Paul kick)
4:37 SLU - Turner 25 FG
0:29 UCA - Grimes 1 run (Paul kick)
UCA SLU
FIRST DOWNS 23 17
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 26-41 40-294
PASSING YDS (NET) 343 87
Passes Att-Comp-Int 52-32-0 23-14-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 78-384 63-381
Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards 1-86 2-48
Kickoff Returns-Yards 7-167 5-121
Interception Returns-Yards 1-0 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg) 7-36.1 3-40.0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 9-82 5-34
Possession Time 32:26 27:34
Third-Down Conversions 4 of 15 3 of 11
Fourth-Down Conversions 2 of 4 1 of 3
Red-Zone Scores-Chances 4-4 4-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards 3-27 1-6

RUSHING: UCA - Ceaser 5-28; Grimes 11-16; Brown 6-3; Brown 3-1; McNeal 1-(-7). SLU- Lucas 24-215; Cryer 1-40; Gilbert 4-33; Neville 2-11; Ross 1-3; TEAM 1-(-2) Babin 7-(-6).

PASSING: UCA - Brown 32-52-0-343. SLU - Babin 14-22-0-87; Ross 0-1-1-0.

RECEIVING: UCA - Ware 9-118; Echols 7-104; Landers 4-45; McNeal 3-35; Branson 2-22; Kennemer 2-20; Grimes 2-5; Logan 2-(-13); Cowger 1-7. SLU - Ross 4-41; Lucas 4-9; Gilbert 3-9; Sobalvarro 1-25; DeLong 1-4; Cryer 1-(-1).