SEARCY, Ark. -- In a wild four-and-a-half hour shootout on a somewhat rainy night in Arkansas, the SBU Bearcats fell to the Harding Bisons 49-41 in triple overtime.

The Bearcats (0-3) looked to tie the game in the third extra period, but fumbled the ball at the three-yard line. Harding (2-1) had scored first in the third frame and converted their two-point conversion. The turnover was the ninth of the game by the Bearcats.

"You're not going win very many games when you turn the ball over nine times and commit 16 penalties," said SBU head coach Keith Allen. "The kids kept battling, but we dug ourselves too many holes. We had lots of opportunities but the mistakes cost us. We have to find a way to reduce those mistakes to get a win."

In the loss, SBU set several school records including single game marks by Steve Gachette for individual total offense (573) and passing yards (459) in a game along with a team record for passing yards in a game. John Austin would also tie the single game school record with two touchdown catches.

After a first quarter interception by senior SBU linebacker Jarred Schumpert, the Bearcats would waste little time in converting the turnover into points. Gachette would hit Elon Paige for 47 yards and then Austin for a 22-yard touchdown strike giving SBU an early lead. Harding would tie the game at the 5:48 mark of the first quarter on nine-yard TD pass from Josh Powell to Kale Gelles. SBU would come right back with another Gachette touchdown pass, this time to Johnnie King from eight yards out.

A long Harding drive tied the game at 14 early in the second quarter on a one-yard run by Dominic Blood, but the Bearcats came right back again. The 'Cats need only 89 seconds to reclaim the lead, when Gachette and Austin would hook up for the second time, this time from 42 yards out. Later in the second, the Bisons would convert an interception into points when Blood scored his second rush TD of game. The teams would be tied at 21 at the break.

In the third quarter, SBU thought they had a new TD catch single game record when Gachette hit Austin in the endzone, but the play was called back due to a penalty. On the next play, HU's Darren Newson forced an Austin fumble. The Bisons would grab their first lead on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Powell to Tyler O'Quin. An 21-yard touchdown run by Justin Duhaney brought the Bearcats to within a point, but the extra point was blocked.

Harding would make it 31-27 with nine minutes left in the game on a 35-yard field goal from Micah Canterbury. Following two SBU interceptions, Canterbury would hit another field goal from 28 yards out, giving the Bisons a seven-point cushion. SBU would tie the game in an hurry on a 38-yard strike from Gachette to Paige. That pass would give Gachette the SBU record for passing yards in a game, surpassing Trevor Spradley's old mark set in 1991.

A 39-yard field goal from HU's Canterbury missed left giving the Bearcats an opportunity with 62 seconds left. An SBU missed field goal attempt from 48 yards was wiped out due to penalty and SBU's last second regulation pass was incomplete, sending the teams to overtime tied at 34-34.

Both teams missed field goals in the first overtime. In the second overtime, SBU had possesion first and scored when Gachette ran in from 11 yards out. But Harding would answer with Blood's one-yard scoring run, sending the teams to third overtime.

Despite his single passing and total offensive yardage records, Gachette threw four interceptions to go along with four touchdown passes. He was 31 of 49 for the school record 459 yards. He also rushed for 114 yards on 21 carries with one touchdown run, becoming the only player in school history to throw for more than 400 yards and rush for more than 100 yards in a single game.

SBU sophomore Charles Johnson had a career high nine catches for 76 yards. King and Paige both went over 100 yards receiving, with King catching six passes for 133 yards and Paige snaring five balls for 112 yards. Austin would become the 20th player in SBU history to catch two touchdowns in game, to go along with 89 yards receiving. Thad Everson also rushed for 81 yards.

For the second straight game, Schumpert recorded 17 total tackles including 3.5 for losses. Tyrin Holt also had 16 stops while Casey Smith had 10 total tackles. Schumpert, Lavarus Rue and Henry Ogunjimi had interceptions for SBU.

Harding's Powell was 31 of 57 for 367 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Blood scored three times and rushed for 89 yards.

SBU had 654 yards of total offense to 594 yards for the Bisons. SBU committed nine turnovers to four for the Bisons. SBU was penalized 16 times for 112 yards and Harding committed 12 penalties for 105 yards.

SBU continues with a tough test on the road next weekend, traveling to FCS power Southern Illinois. The contest with the Salukis kicks off at 6 p.m. from Carbondale.