ABILENE, Texas - Mitchell Gale hit Daryl Richardson for a 10-yard touchdown reception with 2:40 remaining to lift No. 5 Abilene Christian to a 31-28 win over No. 8 Midwestern State Saturday afternoon at Shotwell Stadium.

It was the fifth lead change of the second and thwarted the Mustangs valiant effort. MSU suffered its first seback of the season to fall to 5-1 on the season and 1-1 in the LSC South.

MSU answered the call on the nation's best defense to roll up 416 yards as senior quarterback Zack Eskridge connected on 26-of-42 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown, while junior running back Lester Bush finished with 86 yards on 17 carries.

The Mustangs trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half after Gale connected with Edmund Gates for an 11-yard score with 1:49 remaining in the first half.

MSU would move quickly down the field on an 8-play, 58-yard drive culminating with a 31-yard Jose Martinez field goal at the close of the half to pull the Mustangs within 14-6.

Midwestern remained aggressive to knot the game at 14-14 on a 1-yard TD run by Bush and a successful two-point conversion pass from Eskridge to David Little at the 9:23 mark of the third quarter.

ACU answered quickly with a 10-play, 56-yard drive to regain the lead on a 27-yard field by Morgan Lineberry to give the Wildcats a 17-14 advantage before the Mustangs took their first lead of the game when Keidrick Jackson capped an 8-play, 63-yard drive with a 5-yard scoring run to give MSU a 21-17 lead with 3:09 to play in the third quarter.

The back-and-forth play continued into the fourth quarter as Abilene Christian retook the lead when Darrell Cantu-Harkless broke 69 yards on a third-and-1 play with 11:09 to play.

But back the Mustangs came aided by a pair of third down ACU penalties as Aston Whiteside was flagged for a personal foul and James Williams committed a pass interference infraction to extend the MSU drive.

The Mustangs cashed in as Eskridge hit Little on a fourth-and-4 completion good for 35 yards and a touchdown to give MSU a 28-24 lead with 8:05 to play.

But the Wildcats used a methodical 12-play, 68-yard drive culminated by the Gale-to-Richardson connection to push ACU ahead for good.

The Mustangs were unable to move the ball on the ensuing possession, but would receive one more chance after Lineberry shanked a 40-yard field goal attempt with 1:08 to play.

Midwestern worked the ball to their own 46 before Keivin Swanson was stripped after a 2-yard reception allowing the Wildcats to run out the clock.

Junior linebacker Ty Duncan led the MSU defense with nine tackles as the MSU defense notched nine tackles for loss including sacks by Austin McDaniel, J.D. Corcoran and Tyler Tackett.

Midwestern State plays host to Angelo State Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m.