MIDLAND, Texas -- Ritse Vaes drilled a 42-yard field goal with 9 seconds left to play to lift Midwestern State to a 24-23 win over UT Permian Basin Saturday night at Astound Broadband Stadium.

The Mustangs overcame a 16-point deficit to avert the potential for the program's first four-game slide since 1999 snapping a three-game losing streak to level their season record at 4-4.

UT Permian Basin took advantage of premium field position in the first quarter to construct a 14-0 advantage.

Dylan Graham connected with Brock Johnson for a 2-yard touchdown pass to culminate a 10-play, 39-yard drive with 4:09 left in the opening quarter.

Then the Falcons recovered a muffed kickoff and 7 seconds later as Graham hit Timothy Wiggins on a 27-yard TD pass to give UTPB a two-touchdown lead.

Midwestern State answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive covering 4:09 as Dillon Sterling-Cole hit Devin Cross on a 9-yard touchdown connection to pull the Mustangs back to within 14-7 just 7 seconds into the second quarter.

UT Permian Basin's Michael Mayfield connected on field goals of 42, 45, and 45 yards to help the Falcons push out to a 23-7 lead with 5:17 left in the third quarter.

Once again, Midwestern State responded with another prolific drive covering 84  yards on 15 plays in just over five minutes with Sterling-Cole hooking up with Cross on a 1-yard TD with 12 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Mustangs were successful on a creative 2-point conversion with freshman running back Peyton Shaw hitting Kelby Hickerson with a jump pass to pull MSU to within 23-15.

MSU used yet another prolific drive to pull even closer in the fourth quarter moving 97 yards on 15 plays in six minutes with Sterling-Cole throwing a third TD pass this time hitting Ja'Marzeyea Arvie on a crossing route with 6:43 to play.

The Mustangs' conversion failed so MSU trailed 23-21.

Midwestern State survived a turnover on its possession by stopping the Falcons on a fourth-and-2 at the MSU 23 as Brett Hartgrove stuck M.J. Link for a 1-yard loss giving the Mustangs possession of the ball with 1:30 remaining.

Sterling-Cole completed 4-of-6 passes for 31 yards on the drive to put the Mustangs in position for the winning field goal.

Vaes patiently waited through two UTPB timeouts before drilling the 42-yard winner right through the center of the goal posts.

Cross, a redshirt-freshman from Pflugerville, led the Mustangs offense rushing for 100 yards on 20 carries, while also accounting for three receptions for 12 yards with two TDs. It was his fourth 100-yard rushing performance of the season.

Shaw added 93 yards on 10 carries as the Mustangs racked up 173 rushing yards.

Sterling-Cole completed 22-of-37 passes for 204 yards with three touchdowns, while Arvie (83 yards) and Quinci Jones (56 yards) paced the receiving corps with six catches each.

Senior linebacker Justin Guillory led the defensive effort with 11 tackles as the Mustangs limited UTPB to 284 total yards.

Midwestern State takes on Western Oregon for Homecoming Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
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