EDMONTON – Down by two points in the fourth quarter, and with less than 15 seconds on the clock, the UBC Thunderbirds were faced with a do-or-die final possession against the University of Alberta Golden Bears. T-Bird running back Perry Harder came up big, scampering into the Alberta endzone from 32 yards out with 10.5 seconds on the clock, to serve up a huge 32-28 win for UBC.

"This was a big win," said UBC head coach Shawn Olson. "We've been in a few games like that and it's nice to come out on the good side of the score when we've had a frantic finish. Our guys have shown character and resilience all year. We prepared better this week. Our backs were against the wall, the season on the line, and over the last four or five weeks we've eaten enough humble pie, so it's good to get a result that makes us feel good for a few hours."

The game's result puts both Alberta and UBC at 2-4 on the season, and keeps UBC's playoff aspirations alive. Neither team has won at home this season, and the Bears haven't beaten UBC at Foote Field since 2006.

Harder scored twice along the ground, churning out 60 yards in the process while quarterback Billy Greene added a six-yard rushing major and receiver David Scott caught a 14-yard TD pass.  Kicker Billy Pavlopoulos connected on one field goal and scored two singles as well.

Olson hopes to keep his team from suffering the same type of mental let down they experienced following their first win of the year back in week two.

"The way we're dealing with the win is a little less elation and more 'okay here's what we need to do next week.' Their seriousness and focus on winning, as opposed to just showing up, was something we worked on after the Simon Fraser game," said Olson. "The loss to Simon Fraser hurt more than any loss of the year. A lot of guys were like 'hey we need to change something' and that was good for the team."

The win over the Bears featured six lead changes as both teams struggled to move the ball effectively, manage the clock, avoid penalties, and protect the score. In the end, the Thunderbirds, fighting for their playoff lives made more plays at critical times than their hosts. UBC scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes of play, erasing a 28-19 fourth quarter deficit.

Olson spoke about his team's consistently strong road play versus their letdowns at home.

"It comes down to mental focus. Our guys need to learn how to shut out the distractions at home. There's been a marked difference in our preparation and atmosphere surrounding our team on the road as opposed to home. That's something our leaders are going to have to take charge of. There's only so much you can do as a coach."

Alberta, who had only scored two offensive touchdowns in their previous three games, got the ball rolling early against UBC when Golden Bears tailback KK Sonuga took a hand off 68 yards for a major just over four minutes into the game. Sonuga had two touchdowns on the day. Fourth-year kicker Hugh O'Neill added four field goals and two singles to complete the Alberta scoring. 

UBC scored their first touchdown following a Golden Bears illegal substitution penalty as the T-Birds were set up to punt UBC inside the Alberta half.  With a fresh set of downs, Greene marched UBC to the 14-yard line and then found Scott in the middle of the endzone.

After stopping the UBC offence on consecutive drives, the Bears defence finally broke as Greene maneuvered a 10-play 75-yard drive, finished off with his six-yard bootleg run at the 13:02 mark of the fourth quarter.

UBC recovered the ensuing short kick-off, however, Alberta's defence stopped the T-Birds from moving into scoring position with just over a minute to go and a 28-26 Golden Bears lead.

Now working from deep in their own zone, the Bears offence went two-and-out, with a short rush and an incomplete pass, and were forced to punt to UBC. Four plays later, Harder took a Greene hand-off from 32 yards out and evaded all Alberta tacklers en route to the game winning touchdown.

Olson is pleased with the win but still identified aspects of the T-Birds' game that need work.

"We definitely didn't play a flawless game," said Olson. "We were inconsistent again, but we'll get back to work like we have all year and come up with a game plan for next week. One thing that still needs to be addressed is the tackling on defence. And offensively we can't go through these little dry spells. But we have some guys coming into their own and now it's a matter of our best players playing their best."

UBC hosts the 5-1 Saskatchewan Huskies next Friday at Thunderbird Stadium. The T-Birds handed Saskatchewan their lone loss of the year in week two in Saskatoon.

Game Notes: Billy Greene completed 17 of 37 passing attempts for 278 yards, with one TD and one pick…Greene rushed 16 times for 64 yards… Harder took nine carries for 60 yards…AB quarterback Julian Marchand finished the night completing 20 of 39 passes for 254 yards and two interceptions… Sonuga had 156 yards on 10 carries… Matt Jarvis rushed 14 times for 92 yards… receiver Jess Valleau caught seven passes for 96 yards.

- with files from Alberta Sports Information