CONWAY – The University of Central Arkansas Bears dug themselves a three-score deficit against the hottest team in the Southland Conference and could not come back Saturday night in a 38-24 loss to the Lamar Cardinals at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

The 19th ranked Bears (5-4, 4-3) lost their first Homecoming game since 2002 and fell to the Cardinals for the first time in eight meetings, also missing out on a chance to move back into a first-place tie in the conference. First-place McNeese State, which had a one-game lead on UCA and three other teams heading into Saturday, lost 23-6 to Southeastern Louisiana. Lamar (5-4, 4-3) won its fourth straight game after an 0-3 start in the SLC.

The Cardinals scored on the second play of the game on a 28-yard pass from Jordan Hoy to Mason Sikes, set up by a 47-yard run on the first play, for a quick 7-0 lead just 21 seconds into the game. UCA responded with a 7-play, 70-yard drive that took just 2:43, ending in a 23-yard touchdown pass from redshirt freshman Luke Hales to senior Lester Wells to tie it at 7-7.

From there, the Bears traded field goals for touchdowns the rest of the first half, resulting in a 35-16 halftime deficit. Lamar scored four times before halftime, all touchdowns, while UCA got field goals of 24, 32 and 36 yards from senior Matt Cummins. The Cardinals finished the first half with 427 yards of total offense, averaging 10.4 yards per play. Lamar had four pass plays of at least 25 yards and two runs of at least 20 yards. Hoy completed 12 of 18 for 285 yards and four touchdowns in the opening half.

The Bears got 115 rushing yards from sophomore Kierre Crossley on just seven carries in the opening 30 minutes, but Hales was just 5 of 19 passing for 91 yards before halftime.

The second half was more of a defensive battle, with UCA holding Lamar to just 85 total yards and a 27-yard Elvin Martinez field goal. However, the Bears’ offense never got untracked, despite a gift turnover at the Lamar 15 with 10:50 left to play. Junior defensive end Chris Terrell sacked and stripped Hoy and senior tackle Eric Jackson fell on the ball at the 15. But the Bears fumbled on the first play and gave the ball back to the Cardinals at the 20.

The Bears got a 2-yard touchdown pass from junior running back Carlos Blackman to junior tight end Luke Ross on a direct snap play with 11:36 remaining to cut the margin to 38-24 just before the Lamar fumble. From there, UCA turned the ball over on downs on three consecutive possessions down the stretch. The Bears got into Cardinal territory one final time when Hales hit Brandon Myers for 30 yards on first down. But an offensive pass interference call against UCA and a sack ended the threat with 2:22 left to play.

UCA finished with a respectable 435 yards of total offense, including 176 on the ground. Crossley had 115 yards, his second 100-yard rushing effort of the season, while junior Carlos Blackman had 70 on 12 carries and also threw his first career touchdown pass. Defensively, Terrell finished with seven tackles including two sacks and another tackle for loss and a forced fumble to earn the L.B. Jackman Award that goes to the outstanding player in the Homecoming game.

Sophomore Jackie Harvell had 8 tackles and 3 tackles for loss, while Raphael Garner and Reggio Dean added 8 tackles each and Michael Ware had 4 tackles and two for loss.

Senior Jakari Dillard caught four passes for 83 yards for the Bears and Wells added three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown.

UCA continues its homestand next Saturday, hosting another red-hot team in Incarnate Word at 3 p.m. at Estes Stadium. UIW beat Sam Houston State 43-26 on Saturday and is now tied for first with McNeese State and Nicholls State at 5-2. The Bears, now in a four-way tie for fourth place, close the season at Abilene Christian on Nov. 17.

CONWAY – The No. 14/16 University of Central Arkansas Bears nearly doubled up offensively on Saturday night and cruised to a 38-6 victory over the Southeastern Louisiana Lions in their Southland Conference opener on “The Stripes” at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

The Bears (2-1, 1-0) rolled up 473 yards of total offense while holding the Lions (0-3, 0-1) to just 279 yards, with UCA running six fewer offensive plays. The Bears, who have won their two games this season by an average of 30 points, netted 214 rushing yards and threw for another 259 yards.

UCA used a 21-point third quarter to break away from a 14-3 halftime lead and was never threatened after that. The 21-point outburst came courtesy of an 18-yard touchdown run by redshirt freshman Kierre Crossley, 15-yard pass from senior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand to senior wide receiver Roman Gordon and a 38-yard fumble return by junior linebacker Raphael Garner that made it a 35-3 UCA lead.

Crossley, from Everman, Texas, had a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter for his first career touchdown as a Bear. Sophomore running back Carlos Blackman started the scoring, capping a 7-play, 63-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run on UCA’s first possession of the game. Juwan Petit-Frere returned UCA’s ensuing kickoff 79 yards to the UCA 79 yards to the Bears’ 13 but the defense held on fourth-and-two.

The Lions would also miss two field goals, from 45 and 49 yards, and suffer the only turnover of the game, the fumble that UCA defensive end Chris Terrell forced at the 45 and Garner picked up and ran it in for the touchdown with 5:44 left in the third quarter to seal the victory. UCA also led SLU on downs twice, once in the Lions’ own end of the field.

UCA had five running backs with at least four carries, led by Crossley with 10 rushes for 81 yards. D’erek Fernandez had six carries for 33 yards, while starter Carlos Blackman had 11 for 29 yards. Hildebrand finished 13 of 20 for 259 yards and one touchdown, while Dillard caught three passes for 71 yards. Hildebrand, from Bossier City, La., jumped from seventh to fifth in career passing yards at UCA and now has 5,639 for his career.

Defensively, the Bears held the Lions to just 84 yards passing. Senior rover George Odum finished with 12 tackles, while Garner had a career-high 11 tackles, one tackle for loss and the 38-yard fumble return for his first career touchdown. UCA recorded 14 tackles for loss for -63 yards.

The Bears, picked second in the preseason SLC poll, beat the fourth-pick Lions for the third straight year, and second consecutive time by 30-plus points. UCA leads the overall series 8-3. The Bears improved to 30-6 on “The Stripes,”, which were installed for the 2011 season.

UCA has an open date next weekend before hosting nationally third-ranked Sam Houston State on Saturday, Sept. 30 in a battle of the Nos. 1-2 SLC from last season. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.