HUNTSVILLE, Texas - If this were a basketball game, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's fourth-quarter 3-pointers would have been key in the final outcome.
But the other team - Sam Houston State - was getting six and seven points and won 41-36 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision second-round playoff game Saturday at Bowers Field.
UTC's Mocs fell behind 21-0 but fought back and outplayed the fifth-seeded and top-ranked Bearkats for much of the second half. But a couple of key penalties and a lack of key conversions led the Mocs to settle for Henrique Ribeiro field goals, while the Bearkats scored a couple of big-play touchdowns.
The Mocs finish 9-4 with a second-round playoff loss for the second consecutive season. The Bearkats (12-0) move on to face James Madison next week.
The Mocs outgained the nation's top statistical offense 531-421 and sacked Jeremiah Briscoe six times and backup Caleb Griffin once when the latter had to enter the game in the fourth quarter.
UTC's seven sacks were the most of the Russ Huesman coaching era and the most since a 2007 game against Western Carolina.
Quarterback Alejandro Bennifield had perhaps his best game as a Moc, with 295 yards passing and a touchdown and 85 yards on the ground. Derrick Craine had 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 22 carries, giving the senior 1,083 yards and 12 touchdowns for the season.
The Bearkats' yardage total was their smallest of the season, and their points were the second fewest. Yet they took advantage of two short fields to score, with Briscoe throwing for 363 yards and five touchdowns.
Yedidiah Louis had 156 yards receiving and three touchdowns plus a 53-yard run that led to OVERSET FOLLOWS:another score.
Louis caught a pair of touchdown passes and the Bearkats took advantage of a C.J. Board fumbled punt in building the 21-0 lead. It wasn't until then that the Mocs kind of settled into the game.
"Early on we were shooting ourselves in the foot," Bennifield said. "It was us making mistakes; it wasn't really them playing great defense. Once we realized that, we played our type of offense and got that first score. From then on, we kept on playing, and once we started to do what we do - get guys in space - that's when we made big plays and started getting points on the board."
They took advantage of a punt snap that glanced off a Sam Houston player and took over at the Bearkats' 24-yard line, needing only six plays for Craine to punch in his first score.
The Mocs cut the deficit in half when Nakevion Leslie picked off a pass and jogged in from 14 yards out to make it 21-14, and they tied the score on the first possession of the second half, as Bennifield threw for 30 yards and rushed for 45 in a six-play drive.
"That was the momentum swing for our defense," said Keionta Davis, who had two sacks to finish his senior season with 10.5. "We had to change our mindset about the game. We hadn't been happy with our performance so far, and I talked to the guys and said we needed to get back to playing like we know.
"We made a lot of mistakes early. We came back and fought hard, but we couldn't make that one stop, get that one play."
The Mocs would score four more times to the Bearkats' three, but all three of the home team's scores were touchdowns while UTC managed one touchdown and three field goals.
That was the difference.
"It came down to the end, and they made a few more plays than we did," Huesman said. "I thought both teams played hard, fought really well. I'm proud of this football team; it hurts, but I'm awful proud of the senior class. They did an unbelievable job for us, and they mean a lot to this program."
Alphonso Stewart finished with a team-high nine catches. Xavier Borishade had 62 yards and a score, while Board had 129 yards on six catches.
Taylor Reynolds and Isaiah Mack matched Davis' sack total, while Vantrel McMillan had one.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.