TULSA, Okla. – In the end, the Northern Illinois University Huskies came up one play short. Leading 35-31 after a furious second-half comeback that included an onside kick recovery, a recovery of a muffed punt, a critical stop on four-and-one and four touchdowns, Tulsa's Steven Anderson scored on a one-yard run with 58 seconds to play to give the Golden Hurricane a 38-31 win over NIU at H.A. Chapman Stadium Saturday night.
 
Needing a field goal to extend the game, NIU got to its 45 on a Rocky Lombardi to Shemar Thornton completion before Lombardi's third down pass bounced off the hands of its intended receiver and into the arms of TU's Tyon Davis to seal the Tulsa victory.
 
NIU had a chance to do the same on its previous possession after the Huskie defense made its second fourth-and-one stop of the game with Kyle Pugh stuffing Anderson, giving the ball back to the NIU offense at its 46-yard line. Three Antario Brown runs picked up just six yards and on fourth and four, Lombardi's quick out to George Gumbs fell incomplete.
 
"I'm proud of the effort," said NIU head coach Thomas Hammock. "We're not going to be afraid to go win the game. We don't play scared. We were down 24-7 and we came back, we just came up short. We just have to make one more play."
 
Trailing 24-7, the Huskies turned the game around in the third quarter, beginning with the opening drive. Lombardi connected with Tucker for 20 yards on the first play and three Brown rushes left NIU at the Tulsa 37. Mason Blakemore picked up seven on the ground before Lombardi found Kacper Rutkiewicz in the left corner of the end zone for a 30-yard pass and his second touchdown of the game.
 
Hammock then went into his bag of tricks and pulled out a John Richardson onside kick as the Huskie kicker dribbled the ball forward the requisite 10 yards, then fell on the ball.  NIU took seven plays to drive for its third touchdown, trimming Tulsa's lead to three, 24-21. Lombardi completed passes to Liam Soraghan, Shemar Thornton and Kacper Rutkiewicz on the drive with Brown going the final eight yards for the touchdown.
 
After Tulsa missed a 40-yard field goal on its next drive, NIU took the lead for the first time with an eight-play, 78-yard drive. The Huskies were helped by a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct call that turned a first and 25 from the NIU seven into a first and 10. Lombardi connected with Tucker on back-to-back plays – for 10 and 28 yards – to the NIU 49. Fabian McCray and Harrison Waylee caught passes of 12 and seven yards as the quarter ended. On third and four from the Tulsa 33, Lombardi scrambled forward to avoid the rush and completed a pass to Tucker who found an angle into the end zone for a 33-yard score and a 28-24 NIU lead.
 
Tucker finished with a career high 123 yards on seven catches. Lombardi completed 18-of-31 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns while Brown led the NIU rushing attack with 73 yards on 20 carries. Daveren Rayner led NIU in tackles with 11 and the Huskies recorded seven tackles for loss and two sacks.  
 
Hammock said the difference in the second half was a more aggressive mentality.
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"Well, we opened it up and let Rocky play and he played exceptional," Hammock said. "He gave us a chance to win the game so we have to continue to look for ways to allow him to do what he does because he's playing at a high level and then we need to get the run game going."
 
Tulsa responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive to re-take the lead at 31-28 with 10:38 on the clock. Quarterback Davis Brin hit Keylon Stokes for 30 yards to the three-yard line. After three runs gained just two yards, Brin completed a one-yard pass to Stokes on fourth down for the touchdown.
 
The Huskies were forced to punt from their 14-yard line, but Tom Foley's punt was muffed by Stokes and recovered by Jordan Gandy at the Tulsa 40-yard line. NIU took just seven plays to score with a Lombardi to Blakemore completion accounting for 21 yards. Lombardi took it in himself from one yard out and a 35-31 Huskie lead with 5:57 to play.
 
Tulsa led 24-7 at half with the teams trading touchdowns in the final 2:17 of the second quarter. Safety Muhammad Jammeh set up the Huskies' first touchdown as he intercepted Tulsa quarterback Davis Brin, giving NIU the ball at the Tulsa 44-yard line with 5:07 to play in the half. Three runs by Lombardi and Blakemore advanced the ball to the 30 and from there, Lombardi hit Soraghan for 17 yards to the 13. After a four-yard rush by Brown, Lombardi connected with Rutkiewicz in the left flat and he crossed the plane for a touchdown on the first catch of his Huskie career.
 
The Golden Hurricane immediately responded with a four-play, 68-yard drive. Brin hit Santana for 38 yards to the NIU 30 and after scrambling for 10 yards, connected with Epps over the middle for a 20-yard touchdown.
 
Tulsa took a 7-0 lead on the first possession of the game, driving 75 yards in 12 plays with Brin hitting Santana for a 14-yard touchdown pass to finish the drive.
 
Richardson missed a 48-yard field goal and the teams traded punts before Tulsa added a 28-yard field goal at 13:02 of the second quarter after a 10-play, 30-yard drive, set up by a 25-yard punt return by Stokes.
 
NIU went three and out and Tulsa extended the lead to 17-0 with Brin and Santana hooking up for a 25-yard score. The Hurricane drove eight plays in 71 yards.
 
Brin finished the game 19-of-32 passing for 322 yards and four touchdowns, while Stokes caught eight passes for 135 yards.
 
NIU returns home to take on Vanderbilt on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 2:30 p.m. at Huskie Stadium. The Huskies will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their 2012 MAC Champion and Orange Bowl team. Tickets are on sale at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) Monday through Friday.
 
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