Courtesy: Brandon K. Scott/SHSU Athletics

Sam Houston State rolled over Nicholls State on Saturday 49-24 in the final regular season game at Bowers Stadium.

Nicholls received the ball first after winning the coin toss and came up with a field goal on the opening drive.

The Bearkats put up 49 straight points from there, until three fourth quarter touchdowns by Nicholls ended the Colonels dry spell.

Most of the SHSU starters were done playing before the end of the third quarter.

Keshawn Hill ran for two touchdowns in the game, while seniors Richard Sincere and Brian Bell rushed for two more.

The Kats also got scoring from their defense when safety Michael Wade returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter.

SHSU followed that up with screen pass from Bell to Torrance Williams that went 56 yards for a touchdown.

With the Kats leading 42-3 and 8:43 still to go in the third, head coach Willie Fritz put his reserves in the game.

That decision eventually resulted in the first of three fourth quarter touchdowns for the Colonels.

The loss puts Nicholls on a four-game losing streak after opening the season 4-2 with wins against Western Michigan and Northwestern State to open the Southland Conference schedule.

SHSU has won three straight since losing on the road to McNeese State on Oct. 19.

The Bearkats travel to Hammond, La., next week to face Southeastern Louisiana with a share of the Southland Conference championship on the line.

Courtesy: Brandon K. Scott/SHSU Athletics

Sam Houston State scored 28 points in 2:26 during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s rivalry game against Stephen F. Austin in route to a 56-49 win in the Battle of the Piney Woods at Reliant Stadium.

The Bearkats forced six turnovers in the game and five of them in the final period.

The fourth-quarter turnovers led to SHSU points that made the difference.

Chris Grett forced a fumble by Gus Johnson early in the fourth quarter.

The Kats turned that into a 31-yard touchdown run by Keshawn Hill.

Then, Keith Lawson fumbled for the Lumberjacks on their next possession, giving SHSU the ball on their own 16-yard line.

Brian Bell connected with tight end Regan Henderson for a touchdown on the very next play, making the score 49-28.

De’Antrey Loche came up with his second pick-6 of the season when he intercepted a Brady Attaway pass and returned it 45 yards to the end zone.

The Lumberjacks rallied with 21 unanswered points of their own, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit set earlier in the fourth quarter.

Sam Houston State struck first with a 13-yard touchdown run by Hill, which capped an 8-play, 88-yard drive.

SFA responded when Attaway hit Braxton Bearden for a 26-yard touchdown pass.

The Lumberjacks took the lead with Gus Johnson’s 14-yard run.

From there, the two teams traded scores until halftime, when it was tied 21-21.

SHSU scored on its first drive of the third quarter, which ended with a 4-yard pass to tight end Shane Young.

SFA tied the game again after a 39-yard touchdown throw from Attaway to Mike Brooks.

Bell hit Torrance Williams for a 38-yard touchdown pass just seven seconds into the fourth quarter to give the Bearkats a defining lead.

It was mostly SHSU for the rest of the game.

Bell had a career-high 339 passing yards and matched his career best in touchdown passes with four on the day.

SFA offensively logged 739 total yards but finished minus-four in the turnover margin.

The Bearkats (7-2, 3-1) host Nicholls next Saturday. SFA (3-6, 1-3) will face McNeese State.

Courtesy: Brandon K. Scott/SHSU Athletics

HUNTSVILLE, TX – Brian Bell threw three touchdown passes and Sam Houston State forced two Northwestern State turnovers as the Bearkats coasted to a 44-10 win at Bowers Stadium.

For Bell, it was his sixth game in 45 career starts with three touchdown passes or more.

The Kats had struggled offensively the last couple of weeks against Lamar and McNeese State.

But they hit a groove in the second quarter of Saturday’s game against the Demons.

With the score tied 3-3 with 7:15 to go in the second quarter, SHSU put up 34 unanswered points against Northwestern State.

Keshawn Hill’s 93-yard kickoff return in the second quarter set up a 7-yard touchdown run by Timothy Flanders.

The 93-yard return was the longest in school history to not go for a score, but set up the scoring streak for SHSU.

Later, Bell hit Richard Sincere from 17 yards out, which led to the Kats’ 17-3 halftime lead.

Northwestern State had little to counter SHSU in the second half.

The Demons only touchdown came on a 9-yard pass from Zach Adkins to De’Mard Llorens in the third quarter.

The Kats outscored Northwestern State 27-7 after halftime.

SHSU (6-2, 2-1) moves on to the Battle of the Piney Woods against Stephen F. Austin at Reliant Stadium next Saturday.

Northwestern State (3-5, 0-3) will host Central Arkansas.