DURANGO, Colo. – Trailing 24-7 at halftime, the Fort Lewis College football team got things going late in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter in pulling to within a touchdown before Colorado Mesa University held on for the 31-24 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory Saturday for Homecoming at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.

With a Colorado Mesa (4-2, 3-2 RMAC) defense that had held FLC (1-5, 1-5 RMAC) in check through almost three quarters, the Skyhawks got the big play they needed to get back into it.

On second-and-eight at the FLC 22, Nick McNamee rolled out and found a wide open Parker Strahler down the near sidelines. He evaded a few would-be tacklers and then went all 78 yards for the score leaving it a 10-point game at 24-14 with still 1:58 to play in the third.

Following a lengthy nine play, 82-yard drive by the Mavericks pushed them back in front 31-14 on a four-yard touchdown run, the Skyhawks came right back. After the teams traded possessions, FLC got the ball back out near midfield. After an incomplete pass, McNamee found Ta'Jon Mondy-Smith for a 36-yard strike and then a 24-yarder into the end zone to make it a 31-21 game with 7:04 to play.

The special teams came up big on the ensuing kickoff when Nate Higgins forced a fumble at the CMU 29 that was recovered by Trevor David of FLC at the CMU 31. Although the offense couldn't get a first down, an eight-yard completion to Mason Hatton helped setup a 39-yard field goal that was good by Beau McCannon trimming the deficit to seven at 31-24 with 6:00 to play.

 That's when Colorado Mesa turned in the ultimate drive to chew up clock, one that last 13 plays and 67 yards and took 5:29 off the clock. After turning the ball over on downs, FLC had just 17 seconds to play and needed to drive 77 yards for a tying touchdown.

On the very next play, McNamee's deep pass down the far sideline was intercepted, ending the game with Colorado Mesa holding on for the 31-24 victory.

It was a great start for FLC early in the game when Donell Pleasant III intercepted Eystin Salum's pass at the CMU 38 and returned it 16 yards to the 22. Just two plays later, McNamee found Mondy-Smith for his first TD of the game on an eight-yard strike to give FLC a 7-0 lead at the 9:55 mark of the opening quarter.

After that, the Mavericks controlled the remainder of the first half, scoring the next 24 points to take a 24-7 lead into the locker rooms.

Colorado Mesa controlled the clock with a 37:18 to 22:42 time of possession advantage. They also had 32 first downs to 11 for Fort Lewis. CMU had a 500 to 305 advantage on yards, including 321-277 through the air and 179 to 28 on the ground. FLC had three turnovers to two for CMU.

Individually, McNamee completed 25-47 for 277 yards and three scores. Brayden Lucero rushed 11 times for 38 yards and in receiving, Strahler led the way with 118 yards on four receptions and a score. Mondy-Smith had five for 78 with a pair of touchdowns and Hatton grabbed eight passes for 32 yards.

On defense, Suli Tukumoeatu and Darrian Stickney each had 12 tackles. Tukumoeatu had a half-tackle for loss and Stickney had a full tackle for loss. Lorenzo Tanner added 11 tackles, with two for loss and a sack, while Isiah Mayberry had 10 tackles, with one for loss. Several players had at least a share of a sack with George Marpaung, Christopher Blanton and Tim Paogofie all having a half-sack each. Frank Larriva added a full sack.

CMU used four quarterbacks once Salum went out with an injury in the second quarter, as he finished completing 13-23 for 184 yards and two scores. Ruel completed 5-9 for 72 yards, Tyler completed 5-8 for 47 yards and Howard completed 2-3 for 18 yards. Beverly was a force on the rushing attack carrying the ball 33 times for 128 yards and a score. Tyler added eight rushes for 42 yards. Anderson caught seven passes for 119 yards, while Hines had five for 91 yards. On defense, Clark, Scott and Saager all had six tackles to lead the way.

FLC will remain at home this coming Saturday when they will host nationally-ranked Colorado School of Mines starting at noon at Ray Dennison Memorial Field. The Orediggers picked up a 44-16 win in Gunnison over Western State on Saturday.