CANYON, Texas - Taylor Harris passed for 410 yards and four touchdowns as No. 17 West Texas A&M held off No. 13 Midwestern State 42-29 Saturday night in Lone Star Conference action at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.

The Mustangs fell to 6-2 on the season and 5-2 in Lone Star Conference play, but rallied from a 35-3 deficit after Harris connected with Brittan Golden for a 24-yard score with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter.

The struck for their first touchdown of the game when Zack Eskridge connected with David Little on a 22-yard TD with 44 seconds to go in the third quarter, then Zak Bracken returned an interception 20 yards for another score before the close of third quarter to pull the Mustangs within 35-15.

But West Texas A&M continued to advantage of MSU miscues early in the fourth quarter. The Buffs intercepted Eskridge for a career-high third time and converted it into a 3-yard touchdown run by Tommy Hampton to push the lead back to 42-15.

Eskridge passed for 206 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-43 passing, but was intercepted a career-high four times with two of those coming off of the hands of Desmond Ratliff. The Buffs converted three of those into scores including Curtis Jefferson's 59-yard interception return for a score early in the second quarter.

The Mustangs continued to fight back as Eskridge capped a 14-play, 80-yard drive with a 2-yard scoring strike to Justin Rideau to make the score 42-22 with 5:55 to play.

The duo hooked up for a second TD connection from 16 yards out with 4:04 to play on a one-play drive following a blocked punt by freshman Neiko Conway.

Midwestern State held just one lead in the game on a Jose Martinez 40-yard field goal to cap an eight-play, 57-yard drive to put the Mustangs up 3-0 3 1/2 minutes into the contest.

West Texas A&M would limit the Mustangs to 56 yards of total offense for the remainder of the half as Harris connected for two touchdowns to help the Buffs to a 21-3 halftime advantage.

Redshirt freshman Keidrick Jackson paced the Mustangs on the ground with 77 yards on 12 carries, while Jared Freeman made six receptions for 70 yards to lead the receiving corps.

The Mustangs were held without a rushing touchdown for the first time this season.

MSU plays host to Tarleton State for Homecoming next Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.