CHARLESTON, Ill. (Interstat) — Pops Battle ran for a fourth-quarter touchdown and Lindenwood made a late lead stand in a 20-13 victory over Eastern Illinois in an NCAA Football Championship Division game on Saturday at O’Brien Field. The Lions improved to 2-4. The Panthers fell to 2-5.

Battle was Lindenwood’s top star, completing 26 of 34 passes for 230 yards and running seven times for 27 yards and one touchdown. The quarterback from St. Louis completed passes to nine different receivers and helped the Lions finish the game with the decisive scoring drive.

Lindenwood opened the scoring with Will Graham’s 36-yard field goal with 5:43 remaining in the first quarter. The kick came after Battle completed a 34-yard pass to Drew Krobath to the Eastern Illinois end zone, but the touchdown was nullified by a Lindenwood holding penalty. Graham later missed field goals from 37 yards in the second quarter and 32 yards in the third quarter. He made a 22-yard field goal with 8 minutes left in the third quarter and converted both of his extra-point attempts.

Cole LaCrue completed 15 of 24 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns and ran eight times for 26 yards for Eastern Illinois. He also recorded one tackle. LaCrue connected with Jeremy Reeves for a 49-yard touchdown in the second quarter and found Alex Ginnever for a 24-yard score in the third quarter. Drew Schiller made the extra point after the first touchdown, but the attempt after the second was no good.

Steve Hall gave Lindenwood a 10-7 lead with a 10-yard touchdown run with 26 seconds left in the second quarter. Graham’s extra point followed. Jared Rhodes ran 19 times for 67 yards and caught three passes for 15 yards. Hall finished with 14 carries for 39 yards and three receptions for 12 yards and one touchdown. Noah Triplett added one carry for 5 yards. Christopher Bennett Jr. had one carry for 1 yard, three receptions for 25 yards and a 6-yard punt return.

Drew Krobath led Lindenwood with six receptions for 81 yards. Jalen Smith caught five passes for 44 yards and made one tackle. Aiden Grote had one catch for 17 yards, CJ Reese one for 16 yards, Mac Busteed two for 12 yards and Elijah Roy two for 8 yards. Battle’s 1-yard touchdown run with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter gave Lindenwood a 20-13 lead, and Graham’s extra point closed the scoring. Eastern Illinois tied the game at 13-13 earlier in the third quarter on LaCrue’s 24-yard pass to Ginnever, but Schiller’s extra-point attempt failed.

DeVonta Owens led Lindenwood with seven tackles. Keshawn Lyons had five tackles, and Nolan O’Hara, Jalon Jones, Brayon Crawford and Jacob Waller each had three. Caleb Jacobmeier recorded two tackles, one sack and one interception. Elijah Thomas, Andrew Zook, Caelum Jones and Zach Lewis each made two tackles. Andrew Baumgart and Ke’Andre McClendon each had one tackle. Ashtin Rustemeyer also had one tackle. Liam Corley punted three times for 107 yards.

Lonnie Burt and Ja’Wuan Nickson each made nine tackles for Eastern Illinois. Kaleb Lyons had eight, Nasir Maryland seven and Brandon Worsley six to go with an interception. Aidan Archibald also made six tackles and recorded one quarterback hurry. Isaac Engle had five tackles. James Collins II had four tackles and one quarterback hurry, while Erik Hehl had three tackles and one sack. Premiere Whitley and Micah Valenzuela each made three tackles. Trevon Piggee had five tackles and one quarterback hurry. Cade Cox punted five times for 213 yards.

Charles Kellom ran 10 times for 19 yards and caught three passes for 26 yards for Eastern Illinois. Jacarre Fleming-Page had two carries for 8 yards. Reeves caught four passes for 79 yards and one touchdown, Samuel Gonzalez had two receptions for 48 yards and Ginnever had two for 36 yards and one score. Carlyun Neal caught one pass for 15 yards and returned one kickoff for 20 yards. Devin Whitlock had three receptions for a loss of 1 yard.

Lindenwood entered the game after a loss to Southeast Missouri State. Earlier this season, the Lions also lost to Eastern Michigan, Missouri State and Stony Brook and beat Charleston Southern. Eastern Illinois entered after a win at Gardner-Webb. Earlier this season, the Panthers also beat Murray State and lost to South Dakota State, Illinois State, Indiana State and Minnesota.

Lindenwood’s upcoming schedule includes Chicago State, Tennessee State, Gardner-Webb, Tennessee-Martin and Western Illinois. Eastern Illinois’s upcoming schedule includes Southeast Missouri State, Tennessee-Martin, Western Illinois, Tennessee State and Charleston Southern.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Lindenwood 34, Eastern Illinois 32. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Eastern Illinois with a 55.2 percent probability to win.