SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Southern Connecticut State University scored two touchdowns in the final 1:34 to pull out a 48-47 Northeast-10 victory over the American International College football team Saturday afternoon at Ronald J. Abdow Field.

The Owls improved to 6-2 for the season and 5-1 in the Northeast-10 with the win, while the Yellow Jackets fell to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in conference play.

The Yellow Jackets led 47-35 after redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Arduino (Cornwall, N.Y.) threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Trevor Perryman (Centereach, N.Y.), who was wide open in the back right corner of the end zone, seven seconds into the fourth quarter.

The two teams then exchanges a series of short possessions until SCSU got the ball with 4:59 left in the game and drove 86 yards on 13 plays to pull back within six, 47-41. Senior quarterback Kevin Lynch (Medfield, Mass.) capped the drive with a five-yard scoring pass to junior wide receiver Willie Epps (Norwalk, Conn.) on fourth-and-goal with 1:34 to go.

AIC recovered the ensuing on-side kick but turned the ball over on downs after a fourth-and-two draw for sophomore running back Bryant Fitzgerald (Highland Park, N.J.) was a couple chain-lengths short of a first down. The Owls used all three of their timeouts on that drive, and got the ball back on their own 30-yard line with 1:07 left.

Five plays later SCSU was back to the AIC 13-yard line and, following a Yellow Jacket timeout, Lynch hit Epps for the game-tying score with just three seconds remaining in the game. Senior place kicker Chris Hazleton (Bristol, Conn.) then converted the PAT for the 48-47 final.

It looked like AIC may run away with the game following a 56-yard touchdown run for sophomore running back Courtney Stephenson (Paterson, N.J.) with 5:46 to go in the second quarter made it 34-14.

Senior running back Rashaad Slowley (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) then closed the first half with a one-yard score with just three seconds left on the clock following a four-yard pickup on fourth-and-three, and he opened the second half scoring with an eight-yard scoring run 4:19 into the third quarter to cut AIC's lead to 34-28.

Slowley started the scoring in a wild first quarter with a six-yard scoring run 3:31 into the game before the Yellow Jackets scored 20 straight point to take a 20-7 lead.

AIC drew even when sophomore wide receiver Cal Brownridge (Newark, N.J.) caught a 12-yard scoring pass from Arduino with 8:21 left in the opening frame and senior defensive back Wausa Onigbanjo (Paterson, N.J.) returned an interception 25 yards for a score 23 seconds later to give the Yellow Jackets a 13-6 lead following a missed extra point.

Sophomore wide receiver Matt Brown (North Kingston, R.I.) then pulled in a diving 25-yard score with 4:11 left in the first quarter and Epps answered when he broke free for a 56-yard touchdown run with 2:58 left in the fame to make it 20-14 in favor of AIC.

The Yellow Jackets attempted a two-point conversion following Arduino's one-yard scoring run made it 40-28 for AIC with 4:01 left in the third, but he was taken down by senior linebacker Gavin Nelson (Cambridge, Mass.) in the backfield.

Lynch finished the game 25-of 39 for 430 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. He had two other balls that were nearly picked off in the end zone, and responded both times with a scoring pass on the next play.

Slowley ran the ball 30 times for 141 yards and four touchdowns, while Epps pulled in seven catches for 118 yards and three scores. Senior wide receiver Andre Privot (Middletown, Conn.) had six catches for a game-high 169 yards.

Ardiuino finished the game 21-of-28 through the air for 225 yards and three touchdowns and carried the ball 17 times for an additional 84 yards and two more scores. Stephenson had 17 carries for 117 yards and one score. Perryman had six catches for 40 yards and one touchdown, while Brownridge had five catches for 59 yards and one TD.

Sophomore linebacker Jaquawne Simpkins (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) had a game-high 17 tackles (seven solo) for AIC. Junior defensive back Markell Rice (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and sophomore linebacker Joel Bowen (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had eight tackles each.

Senior linebacker Sam-uel Johnson (Newark, N.J.) had 12 tackles with two tackles for loss to lead SCSU, while Nelson had nine tackles with one sack and one forced fumble. Senior linebacker Jack Petion (Union, N.J.) also had nine tackles.

The Owls totaled 614 yards of total offense in the game, 156 of which were racked up on their final two drives of the game. AIC finished the game with 491 yards of total offense.

AIC will return to action November 5 with it hosts Merrimack College at 1 p.m. at Ronald J. Abdow Field. The Yellow Jackets will honor the Class of 2012 in a Senior Day ceremony prior to kickoff.