The Misericordia University football team ended the season with a hard-fought 24-17 loss at Carnegie Mellon in the MAC-Centennial Bowl, Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh.

The Cougars finished their first season under head coach Steve Cushing at 7-4 overall.

MU took a 17-14 lead midway through the third quarter, but the Tartans answered with a TD late in the third period and added a field goal in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

Jacob Hunter threw one touchdown pass and ran for 115 yards and another score.

Jordan Alston had five catches for 77 yards and a score and Vincent Smith had four catches for 90 yards.

Gavin Morris had a team-high 12 tackles and Owen Norman had nine tackles.

Carnegie Mellon took the opening kickoff and march 65 yards in 10 plays to take a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.

The Cougars punted on their first possession and both teams had failed fourth-down conversion attempts with the Cougars eventually getting the ball back at their own 24-yard line with 3:49 left in the first quarter.

Hunter connected with Billy McCleery for seven yards and hit Vincent Smith for 20 yards to midfield.  Jordan Alston's 24-yard reception moved the Cougars to the Carnegie Mellon 14-yard line, but the drive stalled and the Tartans took over with 13:31 left in the second quarter.

Morris had a tackle for a one-yard loss on fourth down and the Cougars got the ball back just two minutes later.

Hunter ran for 27 yards on first down and hit Alston for eight yards to the Carnegie Mellon 30.

MU lost a fumble two plays later, but forced a punt and took over at their own 27 with 6:39 left in the first half.

A personal foul penalty gave MU a first down at midfield and Smith made a fingertip grab for a 36-yard gain down the right sideline.  Angelo Fluri went around left end for four yards and Hunter picked up four yards on second down.

Hunter scrambled for two yards on fourth down to set up a first-and-goal at the four.

Hunter went three yards on a keeper on second down to get the Cougars within 7-6 with 1:33 left in the first half.  The two-point conversion attempt failed.

The Cougars defense forced a three-and-out and got the ball back at their own 40 with 1:04 to play before halftime.

Hunter scrambled to his left and hit Alston for 37 yards to the CMU 17-yard line. A pass interference penalty on fourth down set up a first-and-goal at the two. 

Alston made a leaping grab at the goal line with just :01 left in the first half and Hunter scrambled for the two-point conversion to give MU a 14-7 lead.

Carnegie Mellon returned an MU fumble 32 yards for a touchdown on the opening possession of the second half to tie the score, 14-14.

Hunter went around left end for a 40-yard gain on first down to move the Cougars deep into Carnegie Mellon territory.

Seven straight runs by Fluri and Hunter set up a first-and-goal, but the drive stalled at the Tartans five.  Connor McLaughlin made a 22-yard field goal to put the Cougars back in front, 17-14, with 6:27 left in the third quarter.

The Tartans went ahead on a 42-yard TD pass with less than two minutes to play in the third quarter.

The Cougars moved deep into Carnegie Mellon territory early in the fourth quarter, but were denied on a fourth-and-one at the 17.

CMU connected on a 42-yard field goal to extend the lead to 24-17 with 3:01 to play. The Tartans forced a turnover on MU's first play on the ensuing drive and ran out the clock.