GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- Azusa Pacific's chance to clinch its first NCAA Division II playoff berth was spoiled by Colorado Mesa, which punched its own playoff ticket by blocking the Cougars' go-ahead field goal attempt and returning it for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to hang on for a 33-24 victory.

Azusa Pacific stormed back from a 23-7 halftime deficit with a 17-point third quarter, marching 65 yards on its opening second-half possession to cut the lead to 23-14 on an Andrew Elffers 17-yard touchdown run. A fumbled punt return gave the Cougars the ball back on the Colorado Mesa one-yard line, where Kurt Scoby punched it in to slash the margin to 23-21.

LeAndre Jefferson intercepted a third-and-four pass from Sean Rubalcaba on the Mavericks' next offensive series, setting up a nine-play scoring drive which resulted in a 33-yard Jacob Hall field goal that pushed Azusa Pacific in front of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champions, 24-23, with 1:12 to play in the third quarter.

After Colorado Mesa answered with a 44-yard field goal to regain the lead at 26-24 with 8:56 to play, the Cougars responded with Scoby gashing the defense for 55 yards to the Maverick 18-yard line. After Elffers rushed for 10 more to the 8-yard line, Colorado Mesa made three crucial stops to set up fourth-and-goal at the five, where Hall lined up a 23-yard attempt for the lead. However, Dustin Rivas came around the edge and blocked the try, and Antonio Clark picked the ball up at the 20 and returned it the final 80 yards to make it a 33-24 lead with 6:14 remaining.

The ensuing drive stalled inside CMU territory when Elffers was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-three at the Maverick 36, and Colorado Mesa was able to convert a third down for a new set of downs to run out the remainder of the clock.

Scoby rushed for a season-high 211 yards, making him the Cougars' first 200-yard rusher since Terrell Watson went over 200 on Nov. 1, 2014, against Western Oregon. Scoby rushed for 128 of those yards in the second half alone.

Colorado Mesa controlled the first half, scoring the first 13 points and gaining 305 yards while holding the Cougars to 150 yards before halftime, but Azusa Pacific flipped the script at halftime, limiting the Mavericks to nine yards on nine plays in the third quarter and surrendering just 52 yards on 24 plays in the second half. Meanwhile, the Cougar offense warmed up behind Scoby's production, and Elffers rallied from a 2-for-11 start to complete 8-of-15 passes in the second half to lead the offense to 256 of its 396 yards of total offense in the second half.

In addition to his third-quarter interception, Jefferson was responsible for another turnover by with a strip-sack fumble and recovery in the second quarter.

With the loss, Azusa Pacific drops to 9-2 overall, while Colorado Mesa improves to 9-2. The Cougars' only other defeat was a road defeat against No. 25-ranked Colorado Mines, which also finished the year with a 9-2 record.

WHAT'S NEXT: Azusa Pacific is one of three two-loss teams fighting for the last two playoff spots in Super Region Three. Central Missouri was ranked seventh in last week's regional rankings and is likely to move past Azusa Pacific (which was sixth) after beating Lindenwood, 35-7. Southern Arkansas was eighth and survived against Arkansas-Monticello (4-7) in a 56-43 shootout.