ELLENSBURG, Wash. – No. 11 Midwestern State didn't do anything to help its cause Saturday night at Tomlinson Stadium.
 
The unbeaten Mustangs turned the ball over six times to suffer their first loss of the season – 30-20 – to Central Washington.
 
"The kicked our (tails) tonight," MSU coach Bill Maskill said. "They were the better team tonight and deserved to win."
 
Central Washington senior Donte Hamilton intercepted MSU quarterback Dillon Sterling-Cole on three consecutive drives to match a CWU program record in the fourth quarter to thwart all Mustangs comeback efforts.
 
Midwestern State was able to fight off two giveaways in the opening half to take a 17-14 lead into halftime.
 
The first half was all about the big play.
 
CWU starting quarterback Quincy Glasper hit Darius Morrison for a 65-yard score for the first touchdown of the game, but the Mustangs answered with scoring strikes of their own.
 
Sterling-Cole connected with Ja'Juan Mason for a 65-yard strike at the end of the first quarter, then senior running back Trenton Kennedy raced 39 yards for a touchdown to give the Mustangs the 17-14 lead.
 
But the Wildcats took advantage of their good fortune by scoring 20 of their 30 points off of MSU's charity.
 
Central Washington kicker Patrick Hagarty hit field goals of 45, 38 and 50 yards in the second and the Wildcats turn another sudden change into a touchdown when Glasper hit Jojo Hillel with a 26-yard strike for a 27-20 lead with 10:21 to play.
 
Glasper paced the CWU attack throwing for 245 yards on 11-of-22 passing and two touchdowns while rushing for 46 yards on 12 carries.
 
Mason turned in a career-high performance with 121 yards on four receptions, while Kennedy paced the rushing attack with 80 yards on eight carries.
 
Junior linebacker Justin Guillory led the MSU defense with 12 tackles including a stop for a loss, while Jaylon Abdul-Karim made seven tackles with one stop for loss.
 
Midwestern State plays host to Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.