NM State beat Sam Houston 30-24 on Wednesday night at Bowers Stadium in Huntsville. James Jones rushed for 178 yards and a touchdown. On a fourth-down play late in the fourth quarter, he gained the yards needed to keep the drive alive and run out the clock. The win was the Aggies' second in Conference USA play. The loss was Sam Houston's fourth straight.
Sam Houston trailed by 13 points entering the fourth quarter. An interception by Railyn Adams started a late rally. Quarterback Landyn Locke led the Bearkats into scoring position, and MJ Dowdy scored on a 1-yard run with four minutes left to make it 30-24.
Locke completed 18 of 31 passes for 235 yards. He threw an 81-yard touchdown pass to Tim Burns Jr. on the first play of the third quarter, which gave Sam Houston a 17-14 lead. Burns finished with four catches for 117 yards.