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Raiders hang on, top Bears

Central Arkansas’ Artez Williams (left) intercepts a pass in front of Texas Tech’s Jakeem Grant during the Bears’ 42-35 loss to the Red Raiders on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas.
Central Arkansas’ Artez Williams (left) intercepts a pass in front of Texas Tech’s Jakeem Grant during the Bears’ 42-35 loss to the Red Raiders on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas.

LUBBOCK, Texas -- The University of Central Arkansas slugged it out with Texas Tech Saturday night before the Red Raiders landed the knockout blows in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Davis Webb completed 39 of 52 passes for 452 yards and 4 touchdowns, including two in the final quarter, as Texas Tech held off UCA 42-35 in front of an announced crowd of 60,778 at AT&T Stadium.

Texas Tech never led by more than 14 points and had to stave off a last-ditch rally by UCA in Steve Campbell's debut as the Bears' coach.

UCA cut the lead to seven on an 8-yard pass from Ryan Howard to Damien Watts with 2:57 left.

The Bears tried to regain possession one last time by trying an onside kick, but Texas Tech recovered the kick and ran out the clock.

Campbell said he was proud of his players' effort against the high-powered Red Raiders, a member of the Big 12 Conference.

"I thought from the very first snap all the way through the very last snap, our guys played tremendously hard, gave great effort and gave themselves a chance to win against a great football team," Campbell said.

UCA went three and out on its first possession, but the Bears got a lift by forcing Texas Tech to go three and out on its first possession as well.

UCA then turned in a 58-yard scoring drive on its second possession, taking a 3-0 lead on a 28-yard field goal by Jace Denker with 7:41 left in the first quarter.

Campbell said he thought his team's early defensive stop set the tone for the rest of the game.

"I think that gave everybody a jolt of confidence, and then everybody played hard from there," Campbell said.

The Bears tried cash in on their early momentum by attempting an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, but the Red Raiders recovered the ball. That set up a 43-yard Texas Tech drive that was capped by DeAndre Washington's 1-yard run with 5:13 left in the quarter that gave the Red Raiders a 7-3 lead.

Texas Tech threatened to score on its next drive as well, but Webb threw an interception in the end zone with 12 seconds left in the first quarter. It was the first of two interceptions thrown by Webb.

"Shaky early," Kingsbury said of his quarterback. "Just trying to do too much, trying to make every play."

UCA made the Red Raiders pay for the mistake as quarterback Taylor Reed led a 12-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by his 1-yard run that gave the Bears a 10-7 lead with 11:43 left in the second quarter. Reed, who passed for 140 yards, snuck in on fourth-and-goal.

The Bears defense came through again on the Texas Tech's ensuing possession when Artez Williams intercepted Webb again and returned it 38 yards to the 2.

Willie Matthews scored on UCA's next play. The Bears failed on their two-point conversion pass, but they still led 16-7 with 10:38 remaining in the half.

"We thought we had a great chance to win the football game," Campbell said. "You don't play that hard if you don't think you have a chance to win."

Texas Tech responded by scoring 14 consecutive points to take a 21-16 lead into halftime.

Webb threw the first of his four touchdown passes with 7:16 left in the second quarter, hitting Jordan Davis with a 6-yard pass that pulled the Red Raiders to within 16-14. Justin Stockton added a 6-yard touchdown run with 3:34 left in the half to give Texas Tech the lead for good.

Campbell said he he reminded his team at halftime that it wasn't out of the game.

"I told them, 'You're just one play away from having a chance to beat them if you tidy some things up,' " he said. "Guys came out and played tremendously hard. I can't say enough about their effort."

The Red Raiders stretched the lead 28-16 on their first possession of the second half, with Webb hitting Reginald Davis with a 5-yard touchdown pass with 11:05 left in the third quarter.

UCA didn't back down.

Denker kicked his second field goal, from 34 yards, to pull the Bears to within 28-19 with 6:36 left. Texas Tech was called for holding on the ensuing kickoff, pushing the Red Raiders back to the 5, and Webb was called for intentional grounding in the end zone on the next play, resulting in a safety that pulled UCA to within 28-21 with 6:20 left in the third quarter.

That was as close as the Bears could get, as the teams traded touchdowns in the final quarter.

Webb hit receiver Bradley Marquez with a 70-yard touchdown pass to push Texas Tech's lead to 35-21 with 12:58 left to play.

UCA answered with a 1-yard touchdown run by Blake Veasley that capped a 15-play, 75-yard drive that pulled the Bears to with 35-28 with 7:47 remaining , but Webb and Marquez connected again for a 27-yard touchdown pass that extended Tech's lead to 42-28.

"I've been through ups and downs throughout my career here," said Marquez, who finished with 11 receptions for a career-high 184 yards."I felt it was my time, and I needed to go out there and do the best I could possibly do."

Dezmin Lewis caught seven passes for 105 yards, including a 52-yard reception, to lead UCA.

Washington led Texas Tech with 104 yards and 1 touchdown on 20 carries.

Sports on 08/31/2014

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