WINONA, Minn. – Jack Nelson surpassed the 400-yard mark for the third time in his career but couldn't finish off a late-game comeback as the Warriors fell to Southwest Minnesota State 39-34 Saturday afternoon at chilly Warrior Stadium.

The sophomore Nelson was an efficient 23-for-40 for 410 yards and four touchdowns while going over the 400-yard plateau for the second time this season (423 yards vs. Mary) and third time in his career. No other WSU signal caller has accomplished that feat more than once.

The Warriors got exactly the start they wanted, as senior running back Anthony Resnick caught a screen pass from Nelson and weaved his way 45 yards for the score to put WSU up 7-0 less than 30 seconds into the game.

The lead quickly grew to 14-0 midway through the first quarter when running back Direll Clark barreled in from one yard out.

A 9-yard touchdown pass at the end of the first quarter and a 5-yard run early in the second quickly brought the Mustangs back, but WSU blocked the second extra point to keep it at 14-13.

Tyler Swinford was the recipient of a 10-yard touchdown pass with 6:11 to play in the second quarter to put the Warriors up 21-13 but SMSU's Tyler Tonderum responded with a 4-yard run to make it a one-point game, 21-20, at halftime.

Southwest Minnesota State dominated the majority of the second half before a late furious comeback attempt by the Warriors. SMSU took its first lead less than a minute into the second half when backup quarterback Blake Gimbel found Nathaniel Huot for a 71-yard touchdown to make it 26-21 before a failed two-point conversion. Midway through the third, the Mustangs added a 21-yard field goal to make it 29-21 and made it 16 unanswered points when Tyler Tonderum scored his second touchdown of the day from one yard out to extend the lead to 36-21.

The Warriors would not go quietly, however, as Josh Mikes caught a 9-yard pass from Nelson on a patented fade route to cap off an eight-play, 64-yard drive with 9:08 to play to make it 36-28.

SMSU appeared to put the game away with a 21-yard field goal to make it a two score game again at 39-28, but less than 30 seconds later Mikes got behind the defense and Nelson found him for a 70-yard score to bring it to 39-34. WSU attempted to make it just a field goal deficit, but Clark was stopped short of the goal line.

Despite a failed onside kick, the Warrior defense still managed to force an SMSU punt. Thanks to a penalty, the Warriors would need to go 97 yards in 1:26 to complete the comeback. After three straight incompletions, Dylan Ulferts came up with a clutch 27-yard catch to keep the drive alive. WSU would get all the way down to the SMSU 24, but after failing to get out of bounds and a clock runoff on a false start, WSU would run out of time to finish off the comeback.

With two more touchdowns on the day, Mikes brought his season touchdown total to 13, which puts him in a tie for sixth-most in single-season history with one game to go. Mikes finished the day with 136 yards through the air.

The Warriors finished with 103 net rushing yards on the day. Clark finished as the leading rusher with 58 yards and a score, while Resnick added 57 on the ground while adding 61 yards and a score through the air.

Senior Ryan Gerts led the WSU defense with a 7 solo tackles and 11 total on the day. Fellow senior Kyle English turned in a great performance anchoring the defensive line, recording 10 tackles. Ian Murray finished with eight tackles, while Andrew Spencer and Jarrett Wood added seven. Tyler Kubler also pitched in two tackles-for-loss.

Winona State (4-6) closes out its season with a final home game next Saturday when it faces Concordia-St. Paul for a noon kickoff at Warrior Stadium.