COMMERCE — In a heavyweight matchup with two of the top ranked teams in Division II, the No. 4 Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions fell to the No. 7 Midwestern State University Mustangs 26-25 Saturday night.
 
The loss brought the Lions to 5-1 on the season and 3-1 in the Lone Star Conference. MSU is now 5-0 and 4-0 in the league.
 
The Lions return to action Saturday when they travel to Silver City to take on Western New Mexico for the first of two consecutive road games. The game is scheduled for Noon MDT.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- There were five lead changes in the game
- Quarterback Luis Perez completed 18-of-34 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns.
- Running back Richard Cooper carried 26 times for 128 yards, averaging 4.9 yards per carry.
- Wide Receiver Darby Smith had six catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
- Kicker Kristov Martinez made 4-of-5 field goals of 31, 19, 43, and 21 yards.
- MSU outgained the Lions 484 yard to 405 yards, with both teams averaging more than six yards per play.
- A&M-Commerce forced two Mustang turnovers in the game.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions drove down the field on their first possession with a mix of run and pass, but were stymied in the red zone and forced to settle for a 31-yard Martinez field goal. Cooper carried the ball eight times on the drive.
 
The Mustangs responded with a clock-eating drive of their own, driving 85 yards on 11 plays to take the lead. Quarterback Quade Coward completed all four of his passes for 65 yards. Running back Vincent Johnson punched the ball into the end zone from four yards out to give MSU a 7-3 lead.
 
After a three-and-out, the Lions defense again took the field. The Mustangs drove down the field again, driving all the way to the Lion 6-yardline. The Lions' Yusef Sterling-Lowe made a crucial stop on fourth and two, causing the Mustangs to turn the ball over on downs.
 
After another three and out, the Lions were forced to punt. The Mustang returner was unable to field the kick and it was recovered by Justice Luce on the Mustang 31-yardline. With the booming punt by Hector Dominguez and the fumbled return, the Lions netted 65 yards on the punt. Two plays later, Smith caught a 28-yard strike from quarterback Perez with 6:32 left in the half. The extra point was no good, giving A&M-Commerce a 9-7 lead.
 
The Lions defense tightened to force a Mustang punt and the offense took over where it had left off. With a steady dose of Cooper running the ball, the Lions were able to complete a 41-yard pass to Smith inside the 10-yardline. A 19-yard field goal pushed the lead to 12-7 at the half.
 
Smith had three catches for 86 yards in the first half and Cooper carried the ball 13 times for 49 yards.
 
The Mustangs received the second half kickoff and proceeded to drive the length of the field in three plays for a touchdown to take a 13-12 lead. The Lions' Garrett Blubaugh intercepted a two-point conversion attempt.
 
The Lions drove down the field on their next possession but were halted inside the red zone. Their field goal attempt missed, keeping the score at 13-12 in favor of MSU. The Mustangs missed a field goal of their own on the next possession.
 
The Lions regained the lead early in the fourth quarter on a 43-yard Martinez field goal to make it 15-13 in the hosts' favor. Smith had a 24-yard reception on the drive, putting him over 100 yards for the game.
 
After a deep kickoff, the Lions pinned the Mustangs and forced a punt from their own end zone to earn good field position. The Lions pounded the ball to the red zone but settled for a 21-yard field goal to take an 18-13 lead.
 
On the next drive, the Lions got a key stop with sophomore Danny Huckaby picking off the Mustang quarterback. He became the eighth different Lion player to record an interception on the season.
 
The Lions took advantage of the turnover, with Smith recording his second touchdown reception of the game with 5:29 left to push the lead to 25-13.
 
The Mustangs struck back quickly with a two-minute touchdown drive to cut the Lion lead to 25-20 with 3:22 on the clock. After a Lion punt, the Mustangs again spread the ball around on their way to another touchdown pass to give them a 26-25 lead with 28 seconds remaining. The two-point conversion was no good. 
 
The Lions completed two passes in an attempt to get into field goal range, but were unable to get into position and a final heave was unsuccessful.