Bolivar, Mo. – The Southwest Baptist University football team saw its three-game winning streak come to an end Saturday afternoon, falling to Upper Iowa University 42-23 at Plaster Stadium. The Bearcats battled throughout the second half but were unable to overcome a halftime deficit. The loss moves SBU to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in GLVC play.
SBU struck first as
Kaleb James connected on a field goal to give the Bearcats an early 3-0 advantage. Upper Iowa responded with 21 unanswered points in the second quarter, sending SBU into halftime trailing 21-3.
The Bearcats came out strong in the second half, putting together a nine-play scoring drive capped off by a two-yard touchdown run from
Angelo Butts. Upper Iowa answered with another touchdown, but SBU continued fighting as true freshman quarterback
Cooper Owens connected with
Peyton Rasmussen for an 11-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 28-16.
Upper Iowa took advantage of two SBU turnovers in the fourth quarter to extend its lead to 42-16. The Bearcats answered with a 10-play, 69-yard drive, finished by a six-yard touchdown pass from Owens to
Jobe Smith.
Owens finished the afternoon completing 22-of-34 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.
Keivon Flint led the receiving corps with six catches for 61 yards, while
Marcus Rhoden added 43 yards and Rasmussen finished with 42 yards and a touchdown.
Tyrone Scyrus led the rushing attack with 61 yards on 14 carries, while Smith added 50 yards on the ground.
Defensively,
Ricky Woodhouse turned in another outstanding performance, leading the Bearcats with 16 tackles and an interception.
Kale Pennington added 11 tackles, while
Chucky Sutton finished with seven tackles and a sack.
The Bearcats will look to bounce back as they continue GLVC play at Truman State next weekend.
