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WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- For the second straight week the Central Missouri Mules went into halftime with a lead, but faltered in the second half and fell as they lost to Nebraska-Kearney 24-18 on Senior Day at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field. The Mules led Lopers 10-5 at halftime, but were out-scored 19-8 in the second half, including 13-0 in the third quarter. 

The Mules (5-4, 5-4 MIAA) jumped on top 7-0 on their first drive of the game. Colter Smith hit David Cannon for a five-yard score to cap a nine-play, 56-yard drive. The touchdown gave Cannon 13 for his career, moving him into a tie for the 10th most receiving touchdowns in a career at UCM.

Neither team was able to muster much offense the remainder of the first quarter and into the second. Midway through the second stanza the Lopers (2-7, 2-7 MIAA) got on the board with a Drew Farlee 22-yard field goal to trim the UCM lead to 7-3. The drive spanned nine plays and 29 yards after Smith was intercepted by Sam Kuck, who returned the ball to the UCM 34.

Two possessions later the Lopers pinned the Mules deep in their own territory at the one yard line thanks to a 60-yard punt by Kalvin Zoucha. On a third and 10 from the one, Smith was sacked in the end zone by Dillon Loschen and Rashard King for a safety making it 7-5 Mules.

On the ensuing possession the Lopers drove deep into Mule territory, but the defense stiffened and forced a field goal try. This attempt from Farlee was wide right from 42 yards and the lead stood at 7-5 with 1:02 left in the half.

UCM took over at their own 25 and quickly drove deep into UNK territory. Smith hit Ronrei Lloyd for 36 yards and Kevin Johnson for 10 to move to the UNK 22. Aaron Jamieson booted a 32-yard field goal to end the half and give UCM a 10-5 lead at the break.

The Mules went three and out to start the third quarter and UNK went to work on the ground. An 11-play, 81-yard drive was capped by a Matt Berry four-yard touchdown run to put the Lopers in front. The two-point conversion was no good and UNK led 11-10. 

Another three and out by UCM gave the ball right back to UNK and in great field position at the UCM 38 after a 23 yard punt. Six plays later Berry ran it in from 10 yards out to extend the lead to 18-10 with just under six minutes to play in the third quarter.

Central Missouri got the ball back at the start of the fourth quarter still trailing 18-10. Back-to-back completions to Cannon gave the Mules a first down at their own 40. Later in the drive Smith hit Lloyd for 11 yards to give UCM a first and goal at the UNK four. On third and goal Smith found Kyson Ginavan for his first career touchdown to cut it to 18-16. Smith two-point conversion pass found Cannon in the back corner of the end zone to tie the game at 18-all with 10:37 left in the game.

The Lopers responded driving 75 yards in 11 plays on the next possession to regain the lead. UNK converted two key third downs on the drive and on second and six from the UCM 12 Ricky Trinidad ran around left end for the go ahead score. The extra point attempt was blocked by Deonte McDonald keeping it at a six point lead.

The Mules drove near midfield on the next possession, but a false start penalty and a 10-yard sack set the Mules back to their own 31 and UCM was forced to punt.

The Lopers got one first down on the next drive to drain the clock and were forced to punt with just around 10 seconds to play. The Mules ran two plays, but Smith was sacked for the fifth time on the final play of the game.

The Mules were out-gained 357-310 and gave up 332 yards rushing on 66 carries. UCM on the other hand had negative 31 yards rushing on 19 attempts with Smith losing 40 yards on sacks.

Smith finished the day 32-of-50 for 341 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Cannon had nine catches for 78 yards and a score. His nine grabs moved him into fifth place on UCM's all-time receptions list with 126. Lloyd had seven catches fro 104 yards. His second straight game with 100 yards receiving and the fourth in the last five games.

Ricky Spratley had a career-high 12 tackles, while Joe Carter added 10 stops including three tackles for loss. UCM had eight tackles for loss and three sacks on the day, including two by David Bax.

Trinidad led UNK with 217 yards rushing on 34 carries. Berry gained 104 yards on 29 rushes, including two touchdowns. Berry was 6-of-13 passing for 25 yards. Ryan Lendrum had 12 tackles to lead the Loper defense. Nebraska-Kearney had 10 tackles for loss and five sacks on the day.

The Mules close out the season next Saturday at Fort Hays State. Kickoff from Lewis Field Stadium in Hays, Kan. is set for 2 p.m.