ABILENE, Texas -- Luke Anthony threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Abilene Christian upset Nicholls 28-12 in Southland Conference play on Saturday afternoon.

Abilene Christian (3-4, 2-3), which had lost three straight games, took an early lead and held Nicholls scoreless in the last two quarters to garner its first win since beating Houston Baptist in mid-September.

Nicholls (4-3, 3-2) had won three straight and was in the hunt for the conference championship before falling to the Wildcats.

Kalin Sadler had just two catches, one good for 65 yards, to total 71 yards and a touchdown for ACU. Billy McCrary rushed for 91 cards and a score on 15 carries.

The Wildcats got two fourth-down stops in their own territory late in the fourth quarter to thwart a Nicholls rally. The Colonels drove to ACU's 24 before being stopped on fourth-and-1 midway through the fourth quarter. Nicholls was facing fourth-and-6 at ACU's 8 on the next series when the Wildcat defense forced Chase Fourcade to throw incomplete.

Fourcade finished with 261 passing yards and a touchdown.