SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Herb Donaldson rushed for 160 yards, 144 more than the entire Missouri State team, but Western Illinois fell behind in the final minutes as the Bears posted a 24-21 victory and prevented the Leathernecks from ending the season on a three-game winning streak.

The Leathernecks (5-6, 2-5) had a 14-3 halftime lead and a 14-10 advantage after three quarters before the Bears (2-9, 1-6) scored their first offensive touchdown and took their first lead of the game, 17-14 with 13:23 remaining. . Western responded with a 13-play, 94-yard drive and Donaldson's second touchdown to regain the lead, 21-17, at the 6:56 mark, and Ken Duffy recovered the ensuing kickoff to give the Leathernecks possession again at the Bears' 19-yard line. Three plays later, however, quarterback Steve LaFalce was intercepted at the 3-yard line.

The Bears used a hurry-up offense to travel 97 yards on 9 plays and reached the end zone with back-to-back 4-yard carries to go up 24-21 with 2:12 left. After rushing 11 times for 1 yard in the first half, Missouri State ended the game with 16 yards on 21 carries.

The Leathernecks' final drive started on their own 2-yard line but they strung together consecutive pass completions from LaFalce to Boomer Moore (12 yards), Donaldson (19 yards) and Alex Douglas (29 yards) which brought them to the Bears' 37-yard line. A pair of 8-yard runs gave them first-and-10 at the 21-yard line where LaFalce was intercepted again on a tipped pass with just over a minute to play.

"Steve made the proper read," said Western Illinois head coach Don Patterson. "They had good coverage on us and the ball just deflected off of Marco (Thomas) and into their hands."

"This was a game of missed opportunities," said Patterson. "We were in field goal range on a number of occasions and turned the ball over. We didn't protect the ball like we normally do."

The Leathernecks, who set a school record for the fewest turnovers in a season at 15, gave up four against the Bears - the most of the year.

Postgame Notes
- Herb Donaldson ended the season with more rushing yards (1,417) than any sophomore in school history.

- Donaldson's rushing average of 128.8 yards per game is the fourth-highest mark in school history.

- Donaldson's seven 100-yard games ties Western's sophomore record.

- Steve LaFalce climbed into second place on Western's all-time passing list, ending his career with 6,512 yards.

- Taylor Rowan ended his sophomore season with his consecutive PAT streak in tact. He is a perfect 89-of-89 in his career.

- The Leathernecks scored first for the eighth time this season.

- LaFalce's 8-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was the 12th rushing touchdown of his career. He ends his career with more rushing touchdowns than any quarterback in school history.