GREELEY, Colo. - In their first game of the 2015 season, Western State Colorado University put on a superb offensive display. The Mountaineers pushed Division I University of Northern Colorado down to the wire in their upset bid, but came up just short despite the tremendous effort. Western fell to the Bears by just eight points 42-34.

The game's final result was in question until the final few seconds as Western (0-1, 0-0 RMAC) had the ball with 2:59 remaining in the fourth quarter, down eight points. The Mountaineers drove down the field and made it to their own 44 before UNC (1-0, 0-0 Big Sky) forced a fourth down. With no choice but to go for the first down, Western dropped back into a passing formation, needing five yards. Quarterback Brett Arrivey (Jr., Woodinville, Washington) threw the ball out to the left, but was unable to connect with running back Vince Grasso (Jr., Grand Junction, Colorado) and the Bears took over on downs with 35 seconds remaining on the clock.

Western's offense looked strong, even against a Division I opponent. The Mountaineers racked-up 587 yards of total offense as Arrivey threw for 302 yards - 29 yards shy of a career high - and running back Austin Ekeler (Jr., Eaton, Colorado) ran for 226 yards - eighth best in Western history. Both players also recorded two touchdowns.

"We came out, played extremely hard and stuck to the game plan," Western's offensive coordinator Ryan McDonough said. "Our guys up front were able to establish the line of scrimmage and in turn we made some big plays, did the little things right and took care of the ball."

As he was in 2014, Travis Haney (Sr., Aurora, Colorado) was a favorite target for Arrivey as he recorded a game high 91 yards receiving on seven receptions. One of those receptions also went for a touchdown. Haney now stands with the seventh most receptions in Western history (115).

UNC got on the scoreboard first, scoring a touchdown at the 9:51 mark of the first quarter. The Mountaineers answered with a touchdown of their own on the next drive. Western would answer every UNC score with one of their own in their first half and trailed by only one point at halftime, 21-20.

Defense stiffened on both sides in the second half. Much like the first, the Bears struck first in the second half, putting themselves ahead 28-20. However, Western again answered with a 49-yard pass and catch by Arrivey to Haney for a touchdown at the 6:32 mark of the third quarter.

The Bears would score another touchdown late in the third on a 3-yard run. Western was unable to move the ball on their next possession and were forced to punt, giving the ball back to UNC at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Bears marched down the field and capped a nine-play drive with a 20-yard touchdown to go ahead 42-27.

Western moved the ball down the field, going 71 yards before being stopped on third down at the UNC eight-yard line. The Mountaineers were unable to connect on the field goal and turned the ball over with 8:56 left in the game.

Needing a stop, Western's defense stepped up to the plate. A big first down run stop by Thomas Chavira (Jr., Oxnard, California) and Jordan Woodyard (Jr., Colorado Springs, Colorado) led to a second down false start penalty. The Mountaineer defense held firm on third down and forced UNC to punt.

Western's offense took the ball over with eight minutes remaining and drove down the field once again. This time, the nine-play possession ended with a touchdown as Arrivey connected with Anthony Apodaca (Jr., Northglenn, Colorado) for a 12-yard touchdown to bring the score to 42-34 in favor of the Bears.

After a quick first down, Western forced a punt and took over for their final drive of the game, down eight points.

On defense, Western's Mike Lopez (Sr., Centennial, Colorado) led the way recording 14 tackles, which tied for a game high. Lopez's 14 tackles also set a new career best for the senior safety.

Despite the loss, Western led UNC in nearly every category, including time of possession (35:11-to-24:49). The Mountaineers recorded three more first downs, 40 more rushing yards, 23 more passing yards and 63 more total yards.

Neither team recorded a turnover Saturday.

With 32 rushing attempts, Ekeler moves into third most attempts all-time at Western (722). It also ties for the Western record for 10th most attempts in a game. His two touchdowns move him into a tie for the sixth most career rushing touchdowns at Western (23), and tie him for fifth place in career points with 156.

Arrivey's 302 passing yards, moves him into fourth place all-time on Western's career passing yards list (4,833 yards).

Western will be back on the field next Saturday. The Mountaineers will host No. 13 Angelo State University (1-0, 0-0 LSC) for Homecoming at 1 p.m. in Mountaineer Bowl.