WASHINGTON (Interstat) — Keely Watson threw for 241 yards and a touchdown, R. Brown scored two fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns, and South Carolina State beat Howard 35-28 on Thursday in an NCAA Football Championship Division game at Greene Stadium. Brown’s final 9-yard scoring run came with 17 seconds remaining and lifted the visiting Bulldogs after the Bison had tied the game. Jett Jackson made the extra point. Attendance was 4,827. South Carolina State improved to 8-2. Howard fell to 4-6.

South Carolina State opened the scoring with Jackson’s 49-yard field goal with 5:58 left in the first quarter. Howard answered when S. Osborne broke free for a 38-yard touchdown run with 2:03 remaining, and Matt Conord kicked the extra point. Jackson added a 34-yard field goal in the second quarter, and Watson then found Jahzae Kimbrough for a 14-yard touchdown. A 9-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Joines was nullified by a pass interference penalty before Watson hit Kimbrough on the next play. Jackson’s extra point followed. Ronnie Robinson scored on a 3-yard run later in the quarter and added a successful two-point run.

Howard rallied in the third quarter as I. Freeman connected with Antonio Hunter for an 11-yard touchdown and Conord made the extra point. Freeman and Hunter hooked up again for a 26-yard touchdown, and Conord’s extra point pulled the Bison closer. In the fourth quarter, Brown’s 9-yard run with 10:21 remaining put South Carolina State ahead, but Freeman found CJ Neely for a 51-yard touchdown and Conord’s kick tied the game at 28. Brown then answered with his second 9-yard touchdown run, and Jackson’s extra point provided the final margin. Freeman finished with three touchdown passes, two to Hunter and one to Neely.

Watson, a Jacksonville, Fla., native, completed 21 of 29 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown and ran three times for 3 yards. He had thrown for 279 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Morgan State and for 215 yards in a win over Norfolk State in his previous two games. The Bulldogs have won two straight and remain in contention in the NCAA Football Championship Division.

Jadin Jones led South Carolina State’s defense with eight tackles and two quarterback hits. Dominic Reaves added two tackles and one quarterback hit, while Roderick Kelly Jr., Sharmari Reed and Marcus Samuels each had three tackles. Zayveon Wells recorded four tackles. Kenneth Brown Jr. had four tackles and a 23-yard kickoff return. Marquis Lane-Owens made five tackles. Ka Von Chisolm had seven tackles, two sacks and two quarterback hits. Hunter Puckett added two tackles and a quarterback hit. Jordan Franklin, Miles Wilson, Joshua Barker, Jordan Dollard, R.J. Brunson, Elijah Williams, Javon Beckford, Jaheim Rose, Jaiden Kimble, Kwantre’ Harry and Zanjerry Dunham each had at least one tackle. Jordan Dollard also had a quarterback hit, while Jabin Ford contributed two kickoff returns for 45 yards, two tackles and one interception.

Offensively, Malaqhi Jones caught nine passes for 107 yards for the Bulldogs. DJ Maultsby added five receptions for 43 yards, and Kimbrough finished with one catch for 14 yards and a touchdown. Josh Shaw ran seven times for 38 yards, while Kacy Fields had two rushes for 4 yards. The team added one rush for 7 yards. Nicolas Brown and Shamontae Burgess each had one reception for 5 yards. Burgess also returned three punts for 20 yards. Max’Ceon Cobb punted eight times for 340 yards. Eric Paul Jr. returned a kickoff 17 yards, and Charron Dorsey had a 16-yard kickoff return and a tackle.

Howard’s Ben Chandler IV recorded nine tackles. Kaleb Gallop had seven tackles, Kedrick Green six and Reggie Reed Jr. five. Masiah Thorne made four tackles. Ishaun Abdul-Ali had three tackles and four quarterback hits, and Faisal Mass, Israel Lucas and AJ Smith-Jones each had three tackles. Rodney Roane added three tackles. Offensively for the Bison, Antonio Hunter caught five passes for 52 yards and two touchdowns and returned two punts for 2 yards. Jadarian Collins had two receptions for 26 yards. Miles Love added two catches for 10 yards, and Nathanial Clark had one catch for 4 yards.

Howard lost to North Carolina Central 34-0 in its most recent game before facing the Bulldogs, while South Carolina State beat Morgan State 51-10 and Norfolk State 22-7 in its previous two contests. South Carolina State’s 8-2 mark includes wins over Virginia State, Florida A&M and Savannah State and losses to Charleston Southern and Citadel. Howard’s 4-6 record includes wins over Morgan State, Morehouse College, Hampton and Alabama A&M and losses to North Carolina Central, Penn, Rutgers, Indiana and Richmond. South Carolina State will next host North Carolina Central before facing Delaware State at home. Howard will host Delaware State before visiting Norfolk State.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 49-26 South Carolina State victory, and its ELO system gave the Bulldogs a 78.5 percent probability to win before the game.